Walking with the dead
by dark1408
Summary: ON HOLD “We better pick it up.” Naruto said seriously, glancing towards his companion. “The bastard might already be there!” He shouted with blazing eyes, making Shisui wonder if Naruto ever got the meaning of cooperating instead of competing. AU SasuSaku
1. Chapter 1

_**Disclaimer: **I do not own Naruto, nor do I own some of the things I've written. Inspired by the book 'Sabriel' by Harper Collins, and some ideas from there too. _

_**Sasuke: **Omg! How could you! _

_**Dark: **Hey at least I admit it! _

_**Sasuke: **... ... ... Fair enough. _

_**A/N:** I didn't update **Secrets that Never Existed** this week, and I'm sorry! I think its writers block...gahh!! I wrote this when I was suppose to write chapter 16...hope its okay. But if it not and there're no reviewers, I might delete this one..._

* * *

**Chapter 1: Prophecy**

It was a little pass noon, and the sun was shinning high on the village of Konoha. People were everywhere, doing business, going to school, getting to work and so on. So what made this village different from any other village? This was a village where magic was taught, and where people gained special abilities like seeing the dead or the future...

A pink haired girl with emerald green eyes walked down the street, hurrying slightly as the time ticked by. She was already going to be late if she didn't reach home soon. Haruno Sakura was turning sixteen today, and she was eager to get home, not because of her parents waiting to celebrate for her, but she wanted to tell them something that she had never told anyone before.

"_Clairvoyance, bringing the meaning of seeing what is not normally seen, or also known as extra sensory perception. One bearing this gift is rarely seen, as the Uchiha Clan was the only clan with this ability. Although as for the Sight, it is having visions of the future, but they say it can be changed." _

Sakura vaguely remembered what her magic class teacher, Hatake Kakashi had said. Since young, she had been able to see what was not normally seen, and she was afraid of it, seeing ghost and dead spirits didn't exactly brighten up your day. But she grew into it, occasionally talking to the dead and helping them rest at ease. She thought herself as a freak then, being the only one who had the clairvoyant ability among all the children her age, but now after Kakashi had explained it, she felt a lot better and she wanted to tell her parents. Although now it was explained that she had the clairvoyant ability, how would her parents take it? As the Konoha history states, only the Uchiha Clan had this ability, it was highly unusual for a mere girl like her to have this ability. She shrugged it off and hoped for the best, reaching her home and pushing the door open slowly.

"I'm home!" her voice rang throughout the house, and her mother came out happily from the kitchen.

"Sakura! Welcome home! And a Happy sixteenth birthday to you!" her mother said, pulling her into a motherly hug. Her elder brother, Haruno Shiro came up to her and ruffled up her hair, grinning brightly.

"Happy birthday sis!" he said, handing her a box wrapped in bright pink paper. She broke away from her mother's embrace and took the box, saying a 'thank you' and hugging her brother. Haruno Shiro was twenty one this year, older then her by five years. He was an explorer, traveling often that he was barely at home. Unlike his father, Shiro gained the ability of a Mage, learning from a young age at casting spells at school. Their parents, now at an old age had never had any of the magic abilities that their children gain. Of course, they didn't know that Sakura had the gift of clairvoyance.

Her father, who had been taking a nap in the living room couch heard all the noise and got up, seeing his daughter at the front door.

"Sakura, welcome home and happy birthday." He said, smiling and embracing his favourite daughter. Sakura giggled and hugged him back, glad for all the welcome she got.

* * *

It was after dinner, and during dessert did Sakura open her mouth to speak, getting the attention of the three of her family members.

"Mum, dad, Shiro. I want to tell you all something, something I've kept within me since the age of seven..."

Her family stopped chatting, and faced her with a serious expression.

"What is it dear?" her mother asked worriedly, and her brother remained silent. Her father on the other hand, merely looked at her.

She took a deep breath before continuing.

"I have...the gift...of clairvoyance." There, she said it, she thought. She looked at their faces, all holding different expressions. Her mother looked like she was crazy, her father was still staring at her and her brother, well he bore no expression.

"Well...that certainly...was funny dear." Her mother said, laughing slightly. "We all know only the Uchiha Clan has that ability, and the clan was wiped out by Uchiha Itachi, the leader's son. Who was later caught and sentenced to death at the hands of the Oracle of the village." Her father, joined in the laughter and soon died down.

Sakura stared in disbelief at her parents. How could they? When she just admitted something that was true, they shoot her down like it was all a joke. But she didn't say anything, and forced a smile, making them think it was really a joke.

"Right, yeah I think. Well, I've had enough dessert. Thank you all for the wonderful birthday, if you'll excuse me, I think I'd like to get some sleep." She said, and stood up.

Her brother never said anything even after she left the table, just stared at her back until it disappeared into her room. He He sighed softly, while his parents continue to talk among themselves, he got up quietly and went to his room.

* * *

Sakura sat on her bed, thinking about the events that had happen. Her parents didn't believe her, not even her brother, who gained the ability of a Mage would say anything. They all thought she was joking, and she played along.

"_I should have known anyways. In the whole village, only the Uchiha Clan would have this ability."_ She thought bitterly. Her sweet sixteen birthday turned out worst than she imagined. She had thought if her parents found out, they would start treating her like an outside or something.

"_Well, I suppose that would be worse..." _

A soft knock on her door was heard, and she wondered who it was. It had been a few hours since she came up, and she was sure that her parents were already asleep. She quietly crossed the room and to her door, opening it a bit so she could see who it was.

"Sakura, are you sleeping?" Her brother stood outside, his hands holding her present which she forgotten and another box.

She shook her head and opened the door so her brother could come in, and shut it quietly.

"What's wrong Shiro?" she asked, after noticing the glum expression on his face. He sighed but smile.

"Don't worry bout that first, here." He said, handing her the present he got for her. "Open it."

She took it from him and smiled, tearing the wrapper open.

"Oh...silver rings?" she asked, lifting the two silver rings from the box. Both were engraved with Charter markings, glowing softly under the moonlight. The rings held different stones in the middle, one was blood red and the other, sapphire blue.

Her brother smiled at her, not saying anything, but setting the other box down on the floor, gesturing her towards him.

"I am a Mage, from a family who had no magic blood and yet, I gained the ability." He said distantly, making Sakura confused. He continued, without looking at her.

"When you said you had the gift of clairvoyance, mum and dad laughed, thinking you were joking. But I did not." He paused, looking at his sister's eyes. "I did not doubt, for even a second that you were lying."

Sakura's eyes widened with surprise, taking in all that he had said. "But, I don't understand what you're trying to say."

He didn't reply, but he opened the lid of the box, revealing a few items that Sakura had never seen before.

"While I traveled, I met a few people. Some of the dead, and some of the living. These are some items that I had obtained from them, for helping them." Sakura nodded, looking at the things.

Bells, flutes, jars, scrolls and even swords and daggers were stacked neatly in the box. The bells and swords were the only things that caught her eyes, they had Charter marks engraved on it. She picked up a bell and examined it.

"Why...are...aren't these the bells of a necromancer?" she asked, earning a nod from her brother.

"Yes. I met quite a few necromancers on my travels, all trying to summon the dead or wanting to know the future. The bells though, I heard that the Uchiha Clan used to posses all the seven bells, but since they were wiped out, the bells had been stolen by necromancers." He picked out the other bells and quietly set them on the floor, careful not to ring them.

"This is Mosrael." He said, holding up a harsh, rowdy bell. "The waker, one the Uchihas never used. The bell whose sound is a seesaw, throwing the ringer deeper into death and the listener into life."

Sakura took it, and stared at the Charter marks glowing. She learned from her brother's movement, that the bells were not to be sound.

"This, is Dyrim." He said, holding up another bell. "Dyrim, or the 'Speaker', is a musical bell that controls sound and voice. It is able to give a voice to those without one, including the Dead, or render one mute. It can also be used to improve mood, for its peal, when rung properly, can seem to those alive as a sweet, uplifting tune."

"And the last one, Astarael." He said, holding up a bell as big as a jar. "'The Sorrowful' or 'Weeper', its tone is described as being high pitched and peaceful. It is the most powerful and largest bell which will throw everyone who hears it, including the ringer, deep into Death. However, if rung properly with another bell, Astarael will not be deadly." He finished.

"So what of the other four bells then? You did say there were seven." Sakura asked, eyeing the three bells which now sat on the ground.

"Yes. Ranna, the first and smallest bell with the highest tone. Also known as 'Sleepbringer', its tone induces sleep, quiescence, and or relaxation in humans and dead alike. It may send the weakest of the dead back into death." He said, opening a leather covered book.

"Kibeth, or the 'Walker', is a bell that controls movement. It is able to give and take away the freedom of movement from its target, or in careless hands its user."

"The 'Thinker', Belgaer is a bell that manipulates memory. It can bring back forgotten memories erased from a spirit who has spent too long in Death, or erase memories altogether. If not used carefully, it may splinter the mind of the one who wields it. Necromancers will almost never use the former function, preferring to use the latter for offensive purposes."

"And lastly, the deepest bell, Saraneth. It is used by necromancers to bind the dead to their will, and is a favoured bell by the Uchihas. It can be used to command spirits back into death, and is a commonly used bell by the Uchihas, together with Ranna and Kibeth. Rung discordantly, it can also make the wielder's mind wander."

Sakura remained silent after that, trying to take in all of the description of the bells. Ranna, Mosrael, Kibeth, Dyrim, Belgaer, Saraneth and Astrael. The seven bells which were once in the Uchiha Clan, now scattered all over.

"So…why are you telling me all this?" Sakura finally questioned, after seeing her brother place the bells each in a leather pouch, rendering it silent.

He turned to face her with an unreadable expression, and she looked at him nervously.

"Sakura, do you know of the prophecy that was made during your birth?"

"…No."

He sighed, racking a hand through his maroon coloured hair.

"I don't really remember it fully, for it was never written down, but said by the previous Oracle. When you were born, that you would have an ability that one rarely have, and that you were the one who will, send the dead back to where they belong, or something like that…"

Sakura stared at him wide eyed. "What? Me? But…but…I can't send the dead back to the realm of death, only the Hyuugas are able to!" she protested, remembering the scene at where one of her best friend, Hyuuga Hinata banished a dead back into the realm.

Shiro sighed again. "I really don't know Sakura, and I think you'll have to travel, out of the village in order to find out. But I can't accompany you, unfortunately."

Sakura shook her head. "No, there must be a mistake, I can't possibly do this!"

Shiro said nothing, but took out long sword from the box. It was a plain katana, the blade was engraved with Charter markings, and it glowed in a soft red light. He handed it to her, and she took it reluctantly.

"This is Kusanagi, it's the name of the sword. I heard that one of the Uchiha wielded it before, and it has Charter magic in it. It will protect you."

Sakura placed it on the floor. "You sound like you already made up your mind about me going." She muttered.

"I have no choice. I was the only one there who heard the prophecy, and I have to be the one to help fulfill it." He frowned. "It is a rule, bound by ancient magic."

Sakura clenched her fist and picked up the sword, unsheathing it and examining it, noticing an inscription.

'The Uchihas wield me, and I was made so that no dead walks in life, for this is not their path.'

She grasped the hilt of the katana and felt the surge of Charter magic flowing into her body. Shutting her eyes, she slid the blade back into the sheath.

"Very well, I accept this path."

* * *

**A/N:** Okay...I read 'Sabriel' and I really liked the stuff about Necromancy and dead I guess, that's why I used some of the ideas from there...but of course they don't belong to me...words like Charter and the 7 Necomancy bells are from the book 'Sabriel' too.

**Sasuke:** Hey, am I gonna appear soon? I am an Uchiha...

**Dark: **Depends...if there're are a lot of people who read and review, I'll continue it. ((laugh)) after all, it was written cause I couldn't come up with a chapter for my other story...((cries))

**Sakura:** I'm the heroine! ((jumps for joy))

**Dark: **Right, Shiro belongs to me though! xD Pls review !!!


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**

**sakuraharuno-cherryblossom**

**.chie.x.seika.-** is it really that rare? O.O thanks! xD

**Sakura Angel 4eva**

**Claud-kun**

**Nokas-Kokas- **Heyyyy I might use that...xD

**d0ink**

**jami16**

**equstoqustason**

**applesxtea**

**aya marie-chan**

_Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or some stuff I've wrote. 'nuff said._

_**Sasuke:** Yeah! The chapter title is 'Uchiha'. Does that mean I appear in this chapter?_

_**Dark:** I dunno...maybe. The reviewers want you in already...xD_

_**Sasuke:** O.O cool. ((secretly jumps for joy behind Dark))_

**Dark:** Also thanks to d0ink fer being my beta reader. though the ideas you gave don't potray Sakura as I want...I appreciate it! xD

**

* * *

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**Chapter 2: Uchiha**

At the break of dawn, where the village still sleeps, Shiro got up, and carried his pack. He had to leave while Sakura slept, for he feared that she would attempt to follow him. He crept into her room quietly, and placed the bells beside her.

"For luck, my dear sister..." he whispered, kissing her on her forehead.

He didn't need the bells, his magic was strong enough to drive the dead back to where they belong, but Sakura's wasn't. She would need the bells to protect herself, and the Kusanagi to make her path.

"I hope, that what I'm doing is right. May the Charter protect you, Sakura."

And he left, leaving nothing behind but the bells beside Sakura's bed which shone under the morning sun.

* * *

Sakura felt something brushed against her forehead, but she merely grunted and fell back into slumber. She awoke much later, glancing up towards her window to see the sun up high, indicating it was near noon. She slowly got up, pushing her hair flat down. The first thing she noticed was the bells on her table, it wasn't there last night, and she could have sworn her brother had taken it. 

"No..." she said, getting up as fast as though something had hit her. "It can't be..."

She raced downstairs, hoping to find she was wrong, that her brother would be sitting at the table, grinning as she came down. She nearly cried out in frustration when she saw no one there, her parents were most likely out at work, and her brother if around, would be sitting there.

"How could you leave me, without even telling me where to go...?" she muttered angrily to the empty house, and nothing responded to her. But the winds heard her, and it carried her voice to her brother, who listened.

"I can't tell you where to go, you'll find it yourself, Sakura..." he said, looking back at the village gates, and then he walked away.

* * *

Hanging the bells on the wall beside her bed, she slowly made her way to the door, shutting and locking it. 

"_Hmm...I have to leave soon..."_ she thought, remembering Shiro's words. Although part of her didn't want to do it, the words she spoke on the previous night was like a promise that she couldn't go back on.

Walking around the village, she thought of buying some necessities to take while she traveled. While she walked, her thoughts wandered back to the bells and the history of the Uchihas.

_The Uchiha clan consisted of Necromancers, but they were not those who rose the dead, it was the opposite. The Uchihas would put death to rest, using the bells as weapons. Only one Uchiha would inherit the real bells, while others used an exact copy of them. The powers were same, but of course the original bells would prevail even against the strongest of all undead. _

_Strangely though, no one ever questioned the existence of the Uchiha clan in Konoha village. Although being necromancers, they were taught to put dead back to rest, and this greatly helped the Hyuuga clan, who at the time being is the only clan able to banish the dead. _

_Though it is not rare to see Mages and Witches do the same in this village. The Hokage, or known as the Oracle of the village, also has the ability to banish the dead all the way down into the seven gates of Hell. _

_The bells were made by the Mandara Uchiha, said to have died while attempting to save another through the seventh layer of hell. He bore great Charter magic, and was a great loss to the Konoha village when he died. _

Sakura couldn't think anymore, for at the precise moment, she bumped into someone.

"Ouch!" she yelped, falling butt first on the ground. The person she had bumped into merely staggered back, irritated that he had been interrupted from his train of thoughts.

"Watch where you're...Sakura?" the person asked, and Sakura glanced up. Emerald clashed with onyx eyes, and she huffed.

"Sai." She said, accepting his offer of pulling her up. She dusted her clothes and placed her hands on her hips.

"Where're you off to this time?" she asked, earning a smile from him.

"Ino's place of course. I practiced my magic all morning, and I promised to help her with hers." Sai said, smiling.

Sakura huffed again, it was not that she didn't like Sai, but his fake smile really ticked her off. She wanted to slap him, getting a sincere smile was better.

She shrugged it off, and after waving to Sai, she resumed her journey, deep in thought about where she was going to go.

"Out of Konoha, meaning it'll lead to a dessert after I cross the borders of the forest..." she mumbled, thinking carefully. The desert would stretch very wide and far, resulting in days of traveling before reaching the Sand village. After that would be another dessert after the Sand village, and she knew no more.

_"I need a map."_ she thought, walking into a store which sold travelers things. She browsed around, and finally found the map. She paid for it and went on her way, wondering what else she needed.

* * *

Setting down her pack on her bed, Sakura proceeded to stuff all the things she had bought in her bag. Extra clothing, water, food, cell phone, though she doubt she would need it. After that, she dressed herself in a tank top and a three quarter pant. She glanced out the window, watching the moon rise higher. 

"Midnight..." she said, and hoisted her backpack onto her shoulders. Her parents were sleeping, and practically was the whole village, it was a good time to leave.

"Goodbye, mother, father." she whispered to the wind as she took off from her window, leaving behind the peaceful life she knew, and into the harsh one ahead of her. The bells made no sound, being kept in the pouches, and the Kusanagi hung by her waist as she jumped from tree to tree, anxious of getting out before anyone saw her.

She hurried along the dark, the moon as the only source of light in the village, her movements in the shadows, concealing her identity. Darting away deeper into the dark whenever she sensed someone nearby, she made it out of the village fifteen minutes later. Panting, she took one last look at the village, before turning away, never looking back.

The forest was darker and creepier at night, sending chills up her spine whenever she saw something move, but Kusanagi illuminated a red glow, making a path visible for her. She felt it, that she was the only living thing moving around in the forest. Even animals weren't out, birds had return home and the only thing out at this time were the dead. Villagers were forbidden to come out to the forest at nights, only shinobi or kunoichi were allowed as they posses magic in their veins.

She halted, all of a sudden. "Damn." she said, sensing the dead all around her, she had been careless enough to not notice how close the dead was to her. She broke into a run, running towards the sound that echoed so clearly in her head. _"Running water..."_ she thought, catching the sight of it. In the middle of the river, there was a rock, just big enough to accomodate her.

"Here goes nothing!" she said to herself, jumping as her feet touched the end of the riverbank, she landed smoothly on the rock. _"Huh? I thought it was a small rock..."_ the rock had expanded, and it was due to Kusanagi's Charter magic, but she didn't know that. _"I guess I'll just be thankful." _she glanced down at the clear running river water, and was indeed thankful. The dead would be swept away in the water if they attempt to cross it, sending them back into the realm. No dead would be stupid enough to do that.

"It'll last till morning..." she mumbled, pulling out a blanket from her pack, she settled down more comfortably, ignoring her senses that told her the dead was nearby. She fell into a dreamless sleep after a while, after noticing Kusanagi illuminating a soft glow, as in saying it'll watch over her.

_"It's gonna be like this for a while..."

* * *

_

Tired green eyes slowly opened to the light of the sun which shone through her makeshift tent. She rubbed her eyes groggily, thankful that the spare blanket she brought was useful. She racked a hand through her hair, wincing slightly as her finger went through tangles. She sighed, digging through her pack for a brush. She had to brush her hair now, or it'll be even worse later.

_"This...is the forth day..."_ she thought, four days since her departure, four days since her brother left her and four days since she accepted this path. She dug through her pack again, pulling out her water bottle and a few pieces of bread. Stuffing the food down, she drank her water and thought about her journey.

"If I continue north, I'll reach Sand village in at least two days, that is also if I move without encountering any of the dead..." she mumbled to herself. She continued pondering about it, and about fifteen minutes later, she had changed and stuff her makeshift tent into her backpack, and was adjusting Kusanagi on her waist. The bells hung on her waist too, tied together with the katana.

_"I can't help but feel like I've been tricked into doing this..."_ she thought bitterly as she made her way through the dessert, under the scorching sun.

* * *

A lone figure sat crossed legged on the dessert sand. His long cloak offering protection from the glaring sun, but he was still sweating furiously. Sitting there under the sun, he might as well be roasted to death if he didn't move soon. He cursed mentally, furrowing his brows in concentration and his ears keen, he could hear it. 

"Bells..." he muttered. His hands went to the leather pouch across his broad chest, running over the four bells held within them. Seven pouches, but only four were filled.

It was at least half a days more travel to reach Sand village, but somehow, the sound of the bells make him stop and listen, and he wanted to know who held them. If a necromancer did, he'd kill them, if an innocent held it, he would take it. That was his path, not to let the cursed bells be misused. Who knows what horror another necromancer might do?

He slightly smiled at the thought of meeting another necromancer. How long has it been since he had a decent fight? Not since...that incident. He frowned, sighing after that, and he lifted his head to sense how far the person holding the bells were. He smirked.

_"At least a day away from where I'm sitting. I wonder if that person has the endurance to reach in a day..."_he thought, amused. Even he had difficulty crossing the desert. Being a necromancer, he didn't need to endure heat under the dessert, as they trained underground since young. Though only when the moon shines the brightest will a necromancer's power be at the peak, and today was a new moon.

_"Doesn't matter whether its a new moon or a full moon, I'm still me, not him. I'll never be him." _he thought again, casting a simple Charter spell to keep his body cool while he waited.

* * *

Sakura panted and bend over slightly, resting her palm on her knees. The dessert sun was unbearable, but she knew she had to move. In a few hours, the dead would start coming out, though Kusanagi could protect her, she didn't want to find out what would happen if there were too many of them around. 

She stood up after a few minutes, faintly sensing another presence. The person was quite a distance away, maybe a few hours. She groaned, how could someone sit outside the dessert sun? She clearly felt that the person was not moving at all, but not dead either, she didn't feel death. She dragged her tired body to continue on, hoping to reach the village and find shelter soon.

The sun was setting soon, but the heat was still there, thankfully it wasn't as hot as the afternoon, she wondered how the Sand village people could live out here. _"Maybe they have thick skin..."_ she thought jokingly, as to just humor herself. She brushed back a few strands of hair that stuck to her face with sweat. Grimacing, she wanted to have a bath as soon as she reached an inn.

Slightly pulling the belt that held Kusanagi and the bells up, she went back to walking, concentrating on reaching the village before nightfall. She knew the Sand village's defense against the dead was almost similar to that of Konoha's, so she had to reach before nightfall. After nightfall, they would shut the village gates, meaning no entry to outsiders, and they would put a barrier up to block the dead from coming in. She didn't want to spend another night in the dessert, so she picked up her pace.

* * *

The figure still sat on the sand, now cooled, instead of hot. The person holding the bells would reach his spot soon, maybe around another ten minutes. He thought of going to the village first, as it was a few more hours before nightfall. He's best friend would be waiting for him, along with another Mage. He sighed, he was a necromancer, why would he travel with two other White Mage? Clearly they were opposites, and would not work well together. 

"_But...then again..."_ he reasoned with himself, he was not a necromancer who summoned the dead, or use anything to rise them. He merely put them through the seventh gate of the realm, or hell. He sighed, figuring the bell he held. Ranna, the smallest bell with the highest tone, the sleepbringer.

If the person holding the bell was a necromancer or a dead, he would use Ranna first, before using Kibeth and Saraneth. It was the simplest way to banish the dead back to the realm, and he fairly preferred a short fight for the bells, though he wouldn't mind a challenging battle.

He spotted a blur coming nearer, and knew the person he had been waiting for had come. "Lets see who has you shall we?" he muttered, standing up.

* * *

Sakura huffed as she hoisted the backpack higher, groaning at the weight of it. Maybe it was because she was fairly tired, so it seemed heavier. She squinted her eyes and saw an outline of a person. 

"_I hope its not the dead...it is the evening already..."_ she thought, placing her hand near Kusanagi. The bells were not a help, not right now when she didn't know if the person was the dead or not. She slowly drew out Kusanagi, positioning it in front of her, ready to assault the person if it was the dead.

Before she could register though, the person in front of her had sprinted forward, its arm positioned to ram into her throat, pushing her down to the sand.

* * *

He looked at the girl he had tackled down, realizing that she was just a human, but she had strong Charter magic protecting her which felt so familiar... 

"...Kusanagi?" he questioned, seeing the blade beside the girl, which had been knocked from her hand when he tackled her down. The girl's green eyes widened in surprise, and she struggled to talk.

"You...know...Kusanagi?" she choked, slightly breathless as the arm on her throat was suffocating her. He quickly stood up, picking up the blade as he came off her.

"Where...did you get this?" he asked, looking at the girl. Sakura looked at the person in front of her.

Standing at least a head taller then her, he had the deepest onyx eyes, and raven hair that would blend into the dark, with a few streaks of blue highlights. He wore a blue shirt, sleeveless underneath the long cloak that protected him from the glaring sun. His pants were white, and had dirt stains which proved that he traveled, and his boots were black. He had a leather belt with pockets strapped across his broad chest, and a katana like hers on his left side of his waist.

"Hey, I asked you a question." He said, clearly irritated. Sakura snapped up, glaring at him. He was rude, that was the first impression.

"I got it from my brother, now if you would kindly hand it back. I would prefer to get to the village before nightfall." She said, getting up and dusting the sand of her clothes. She held her hand out to the boy in front of her, demanding the katana.

"...It's the property of an Uchiha, isn't it. How did your brother get a hold of it woman?" he said, ignoring her hand, venom lacing his voice.

Sakura slowly pulled her hand back, she wouldn't be getting her katana back anytime soon, by the way the situation was going.

"I don't know. My brother just gave it to me four days ago, together with the bells and I'm here walking my path."

"Bells...necromancy bells? Those of an Uchiha?" he questioned, glaring into her emerald eyes. She nodded.

"I was not aware that you need so much information, if you want to know about the Uchihas, I suggest you take up Konoha history." She spat, irritated at his little interrogation.

He was taken back, she was just a girl, and yet had so much courage to talk to him like that. Did she not know who she was speaking with?

"You...don't you know who you're speaking to?" he said, confusing her.

"I'm talking to an arrogant idiotic jerk. Now hand me back my katana!" she half yelled, already the sun was starting to set. If she did not make it to the village, she would be waking up to the heat of the sun again.

The boy did not make any movement, but he turned his head to the left, looking at the sun. "Damn it." He cursed, and proceeded to walk in the direction of the village. Sakura gritted her teeth, how could he just walk off with her katana? She ran after him.

"Hey! That's my katana you jerk!" she shouted, making him pause in his steps. He turned slightly to see the girl panting, and he groaned.

"You won't make it to the village like that. You don't even have the energy to walk." He said, pointing out the obvious. Sakura snorted.

"Please, I made it this far, I can go..." but before she finished her sentence, her legs gave way and she stumbled to the ground on her knees. "Wha..."

"You haven rested since you started walking, have you?" he asked, amusement clearly in his voice. She glared at him, not finding anything amusing at all.

"Shut up." She growled. Now she would never reach the village, and what was worst, this guy would take away Kusanagi, her source of protection. The dead would hunt her and this would be the end of her journey. Great, she'll die before she can find out why she had the clairvoyant ability.

"Annoying." Her head snapped up at his voice, and was surprise to see him kneeling in front of her, back first. He glanced behind, frowning.

"Are you going to get up? I can't kneel here all day, I need to get to the village." He said, handing her Kusanagi in the same time. She numbly nodded, and hoisted herself up. He stood up with ease, as though she wasn't on his back at all.

"Thank you..." she mumbled, slightly unwilling to thank him after he caused so much trouble for her.

"It's just on the way. I want to know about Kusanagi and the bells anyway. So you better tell me for getting you to the village..." he said, breaking into a run as he finished saying that.

* * *

"Teme is late..." a blond with blue cerulean eyes said, leaning out a bit to see over the gate. A pearl white eye boy stood beside him, but he said nothing and shrugged. 

"It's going to be nightfall soon, though we told Gaara that Sasuke would be back before then, where is that bastard?" he complained.

Gaara was the Kazekage, or Oracle of the village. Though only at the age of seventeen, he had attained the rank of the Oracle, gaining the respect of the villagers who once fears his powers. Naruto, the blond grinned.

"Maybe he got eaten or something...maybe even the dead got him and..."

"And...?" a deep voice interrupted his ramblings, and Naruto slowly turned his head, seeing the raven haired boy behind him, he laughed nervously.

"Hey Sasuke! I was...er...you know, thinking about stuff..." he trailed off, not knowing what to say as the boy glared at him. It was then he noticed a pink haired girl on the boy's back.

"Hey teme, who's the chick?" Naruto asked, as he pointed to Sakura. Neji, the white eyed boy cocked an eyebrow.

"Haruno?" he asked, making Sakura turn towards him after the boy named 'Sasuke' put her down.

"Neji!" she exclaimed, clearly surprised and walked over to him. "What are you doing here?" she asked, smiling a bit.

Hyuuga Neji was her senior in Konoha High, older by a year, he was clearly a prodigy in school. He excelled in everything, ranging from the simplest of Charter spells to the most complicate ones. He graduated as an honored White Mage and set of to travel a month after that. It had been a year since his graduation, and Sakura knew him through his cousin, Hyuuga Hinata.

Neji shrugged, nodding his head towards Naruto and Sasuke. "Traveling with these two, learning and discovering more."

Sakura turned towards the two boys, where Sasuke now leaning against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed, while the blond grinned at her.

"Hey, I'm Uzumaki Naruto! A White Mage from Konoha." He said, extending his hand, which Sakura took hesitantly.

"Konoha? I've never seen you around..." she said, and he scratched the back of his head nervously.

"He he...well I was really bad at Charter spells, so I undergo private classes with Iruka-sensei. I graduated the same year as Neji and set off with him."

"Oh, what about...that Sasuke?" she said, and Sasuke looked up.

"I'm a necromancer." Was all he said before stuffing his hands in his pocket, walking down the steps of the guard post where they stood. The guard in the post bowed a bit as Sasuke passed, making Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"Is he...a respected person or something? But he's a necromancer, summoner of the dead!" she said, and Naruto chuckled.

"Don't worry er...I didn't get your name..." he said, looking at her.

"Sakura. Haruno Sakura." She said. "As you were saying?"

"Ah yes, Sakura. Don't worry bout it, he doesn't summon the dead, he walks them to the realm. Not make them rise."

Sakura gasped. "Like the Uchihas?" she asked, startled that necromancers apart from the Uchihas would do that.

Neji and Naruto shifted uncomfortably, Sasuke had forbid them to tell anyone that he was an Uchiha, it would just make more trouble than they could afford. The only person who knew of this was Neji, Naruto, Gaara and the elders of the village.

"Yeah, you could say that." Naruto said in the end, and he quickly changed the topic.

"Hey we should get moving yeah? I'm sure you'd want to find an inn to stay right Sakura? You can stay where we're staying, it's quite a good place..."

Sakura nodded, and smiled gratefully. "Yes, it would be great. Thank you very much Naruto, Neji."

* * *

Sasuke stood on the rooftop of the inn they were currently staying at, staring at the darkness that enveloped the whole town. It was a new moon, and the village had no light except for a few buildings that were on a look out like the guard post. 

"_So the girl has my bells and Kusanagi...I wonder how her brother got his hands on them. Haruno...rings a bell..."_

He slightly remembered the day where his clan was wiped out by Itachi, the day he was eight, ten long years ago.

_Sasuke was laying down on the damp grass in the training grounds. He smiled slightly, satisfied that his necromancy skills had improved. He had been practicing ringing what they called 'training bells' which, when rang properly would sound exactly like the original necromancy bells passed down in the Uchihas. _

"_I bet dad would be proud!" he thought, getting up and slowly packing his things. Then he heard a lot of footsteps, hurrying in the direction of the Uchiha estate. _

"_Huh?" he said, and he got up quickly, running towards home. But when he reached there, he stopped, shocked at the scene in front of him._

_Blood, a lot of it, splattered everywhere. On the walls, the ground, the grass, and bodies were lying dead on the dirt floor. He immediately felt a wave of nausea hit him, and he bent over, throwing up. _

"_Itachi! We have you surrounded!" a voice rang out, and Sasuke looked up, wiping the corners of his mouth. What had happened with Itachi? He thought as he stood up with effort, and he felt a pair of arms wrapped around him._

"_Sasuke?" a voice said, and he glanced up, seeing an unknown person. _

"_I'm Hatake Kakashi, come on, we've got to get you out of here." He said, picking the child up. Sasuke struggled, and almost threw up again._

"_Itachi-niisan...what happened?" he asked the silver haired man, who was now walking out of the Uchiha compound. Kakashi sighed heavily, and looked at Sasuke._

"_Itachi...murdered the clan Sasuke. I'm...sorry." Sasuke stared at him, not believing what he said. Why would Itachi do that?_

"_No way, this is a joke, why would Itachi-niisan do that?" he said, voice shaking._

_Kakashi said nothing, and Sasuke didn't bother. He was staring into nothing, head filled with 'why's and 'how's. Why did Itachi do that? Why did it have to be their clan? How come no one prevented it?_

_Kakashi held the trembling child in his hands, determined to bring him up as he was the last Uchiha. Uchiha Itachi would be sentenced to death the next day, and his laugh was heard throughout the compound, like a mad man._

_

* * *

_

**A/N: **And that's chapter two for ya! I was waiting for 10 reviews actually...kekeke...thank you so much fer those who reviewed!! I think I haven reply to them, sorry for that, school work is piling up and I seldom get to online.

**Sasuke: **Get someone to reply them then...

**Dark:** Maybe...hmm..maybe I'll ask d0ink...

**Sasuke:** Yeah, as long as I'm in the story and don't **DIE** like the last one...

**Dark:** ((laughs nervously)) ahahaha...

**Sakura:** Poor Sasuke...((giggles)) review pls!!!


	3. Chapter 3

**_Thanks to those who reviewed!!_**

**Ai-Chan13**

**ApplesxTea**

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**jami16**

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**_A/N:_**_ I finally finished **Secrets that Never Existed!**! Hope y'll enjoy this chappie too!! xD_**  
**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Of Bells and Swords  
**

The sun was high when Sakura woke up, signaling that it was near noon. She sat up and yawned, stretching while wondering what the time was. Drawing open the curtains, she saw that the streets were full of people, bustling around and going on with their daily chores.

"_I would be going to school now, entering Ms Kurenai's class…with Ino and Hinata…"_

A knock at the door jolted her back to reality, where she was in Sand village, and not Konoha.

"Sakura? Are you awake?" Naruto's voice came through the door, and Sakura sighed.

"Yes, is there anything you want?" she called back, getting out of bed while doing so. She saw to it that the door was locked, and went to wash her face and brush her teeth. Then, she started pulling her shirt off to change.

"Yeah, Neji wants to talk to you, and says to meet us for lunch downstairs."

"I'll be down in a few minutes." She said, pulling on a long white pant and a sleeveless blue tank top. She brushed her hair and tied it into a high ponytail, the heat already getting to her.

* * *

Sasuke was fingering Ranna again, when Naruto came down. Beside Sasuke was Neji, who was reading a book and did not look up even as the blond boy sat down on the chair. He sighed heavily, and Neji finally looked up. 

"Naruto? Something wrong with you?" the white eye boy questioned, and Naruto shook his head.

"Nah, just thinking about Sakura. How did she get Kusanagi and the bells? I was pretty certain that I went and checked the Uchiha grounds at least a hundred times, but came back with nothing…"

Sasuke nodded. "I've been there myself a few years ago, but nothing was left. Kakashi also said that _he_ already took it away when he...killed them."

Neji placed his book down on the table. "Surely you're not suggesting that Sakura's a necromancer? I've checked her Charter and chakra, and she's a junior at Konoha High. I know her."

"But it still could happen you know, there are not only one set of the necromancy bells, need I remind you."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "You're saying another necromancer used Saraneth to bind her? It's a high possibility, but why would he give her the original bells to carry then?"

Sasuke frowned, Naruto had a point. What necromancer would be stupid enough to hand the bells to a Charter Mage in training? The more they thought about it, the more ridiculous conclusions jumped out.

Just then, Sakura came through the door, staring at the three boys who were startled when she came in.

"Good afternoon, what's wrong with you guys?" she asked, when she saw the look on their faces, like ones who were watching her like a hawk. Naruto said nothing, but grinned brightly, inviting her to sit beside him.

"Afternoon Sakura! Slept well?" he asked as she sat down. She nodded.

"Yes, thank you for letting me stay with you guys."

Neji smirked and Sasuke said nothing, still thinking about what they had discussed earlier.

"Sakura." Neji said, making the said girl turn towards him. "I need…no, we need to know how you got your hands on the bells and Kusanagi."

Sakura cocked her head to the side. "I honestly would tell you, but my brother just gave them to me four days ago. He told me that the bells were of the Uchiha, but he never said how he got them. Oh, on travels I suppose, but that was all."

"Would you…give us to take a look at the bells?" Sasuke ask, hesitating.

Sakura thought about it for a while. What if they took of with the bells and Kusanagi? Those were the only things that her brother left for her, and the only information she had for finding her path. But she nodded anyways, deciding that for now it was okay to let them have a look at the items.

* * *

Sasuke touched the harsh, rowdy bell, feeling the familiar tinge of Charter magic flowing into his body. He smiled slightly at this, he had held all the bells when he was young, and had no problem remembering how each one felt like. The Uchiha clan's symbol was carved on the handle of the bell, marking it as the original set, for he himself had another set in his bag. 

"Are you…familiar with the bells?" Sasuke ask Sakura, who shook her head.

"I'm not really. I'd prefer the flutes that are almost the same, but my brother told me that the flutes were not as strong as the bells when I was little."

Sasuke nodded. "He's right. The seven flutes are not as powerful as the bells, but it still works as well as the bells in time of need…"

He turned the bell over, and Sakura could tell he was very familiar with it as he handled it with care, not making a sound while examining the bell. She suddenly had this feeling that she could see through his thoughts, what he had encountered through the years. They were flashes of many things, mostly unpleasant…

_A young boy around the age of nine sat behind a tree, poking at the ground with a stick. He was looking downcast and was clutching something in his right hand._

_Flash_

_A young teen now stood upright, head held high and had a look of confidence in his eyes. He smirked, clutching the leather belt that held bells strapped across his chest, he walked out of a village gate._

_Flash_

_Dead. Hundreds of Dead were surrounding a raven haired boy. He merely stood in the circle while they closed in on him. He glared at them, blade not out but still in its sheath on his waist. With slow movements he drew out a bell, no bigger then a pillbox, and rang it. The Dead went still, slowing down while he brought out another bell, ringing it, this time making them fall. And at last he took out a bigger bell, ringing it so that the Dead would walk back to the realm._

_Flash_

_He sat between the stream, where running water protected him from the Dead at night. He lay down and stared at the skies, drifting in and out of sleep._

_Flash_

_Naruto stood in front of him, grinning brightly and holding out what looked to be a white and red fox. His body was covered in blood and mud, while Neji sat beside them, panting heavily. _

_Flash_

_He held a bell, and he smirked. Down at his feet there was a necromancer, but he was dead, walked to the seventh gate by the boy, and would never come back to the living._

"Sakura!"

A voice called out to her, snapping her back to reality. Naruto was shaking her, his face an inch away from hers, and she blushed. Never had she been this close to a boy before, and she reacted by pushing away, hard.

"Ouch!" he yelled, hitting the wall behind him. Sakura scrambled up and kept apologizing.

"Sakura, are you okay? You just started spacing out…" Neji said, ignoring Naruto. Sakura nodded, feeling slightly dizzy.

"_What was all those flashes…I saw Sasuke, Naruto and Neji in them…could it be…Sasuke's memories?"_ She thought, horrified. She had a look in another's memory, and it was rude, not to mention it could have been private!

Sasuke still sat where he was, but he was looking at her, bells still in hands. She looked away, embarrassed about what she saw, though it seemed like nothing important, she was sure Sasuke was not the type to let just anyone see his memories.

"I'm sorry, I'll…wash my face." She said, and hurried to the bathroom, closing the door behind her.

Naruto sat up, rubbing his back and groaning. "Man, for a girl that looks fragile, she sure had a hell lotta strength!"

* * *

She turned on the water, and watched it fall. Sakura couldn't get those images out of her mind. She held onto the sides of the basin to steady herself. 

Unpleasant?

That was not the word that could describe Sasuke's memories. It was horrifying for her, she who never faced the dead head on, let alone be surrounded by at least a hundreds of them!

"What is he…is he even human?" she mumbled to herself, racking a hand through her soft hair. She knew Sasuke was a necromancer, but she had never seen one go against so many dead.

She slowly stood up, turning the water off and wiping her hand, which she had dipped into the water. Somwhow after watching the memories of Sasuke, she felt something. It wasn't sympathy, but it wasn't anything that she could describe.

"_Do I feel sorry for someone I just met?"_ She thought as she opened the door, walking back to her room.

* * *

Naruto was still rubbing the back of his head when she came in, while Neji was leaning against the wall, reading a book. Sasuke was putting the bells back into her bag and examining Kusanagi. He looked up when she entered, stopping her in her tracks. She hesitated a moment before heading towards him, crouching beside him. 

"Are…you going to take it?" she asked, surprising him. He smirked.

"No. I don't need it, not now anyway." He said, making her let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. If he had taken away Kusanagi, she couldn't stop him, as Neji and Naruto were expected to help him, and she would lose her only source of protection.

He stared at her face, which held a relieved expression, he smirked slightly knowing what she was thinking. He wordlessly unsheathe his katana, making her snap her head towards him, no doubt thinking something else.

He chuckled. "I'm not going to kill you to get the bells, Sakura." she blushed, muttering an apology as he held the blade in front of her. She inspected it, and noticed the Charter markings on it, like hers, and it had an inscription too.

_The Hyuugas saw me, the Mandara made me, and I am wield so that the dead does not walk this world._

She marveled at it, the blade looked the same, yet it was somehow different. She could feel the Charter magic in it and that it had met many battles, more then her Kusanagi. He smiled when she stared at the blade longer then anyone has, taking in every detail on the blade.

"I had it with me since I was a kid, and Kusanagi was my brother's." he explained, leaving out the fact that he and his brother were Uchihas.

"I see…" she said, turning the blade over and tracing the Charter marks. Neji and Naruto left the room quietly, seeing that Sasuke and Sakura were occupied at the moment.

"I really can't see that she's a necromancer, or if she was bind by Saraneth. Her chakra patterns are normal."

Naruto nodded. "But then again, she said her brother gave it to her. How did he get his hands on it?"

Neji thought for a while, and then he suddenly walked towards the door. "Come on Naruto."

"Eh? Where to?" he asked, startled.

"To see someone about this." Neji said, smirking.

* * *

** Dark: **I'm sorry it's so short! I've been working on a lot of stuff lately...school work, drawings etc...I'll make the next one longer!!

**Sasuke:** That's what you always say...

**Dark:** ... ...Err...

**Sasuke:** ((smirks))

**Dark:** Keep it up and I'll use the old threat of making you GAY again.

**Sasuke: **Don't you get tired of using that?

**Dark: **I duno...ask the readers? xD

**Sasuke: **((sigh)) Pls review...((and review bout that too!))

**Dark: **((hits Sasuke))


	4. Chapter 4

_**Thanks for those who reviewed!! **_

**Sakura Angel 4eva**

**Aya Marie-chan- **LOLZ!! sometimes true...xD**  
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**.chie.x.sieka- **tried to fit it in...but I guess it'll have to wait? T.T**  
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**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me- **hahahz! I was thinking of drawing, but currently no stable clothing...so I guess it'll haveta wait... D:

**kotone111 **

**_A/N: _**_Yesss...I have been lazy. No not lazy, just that I wanted to borrow the book from my friend again, but it seems like her family is reading it so... you get the picture. I suddenly had ideas on what to write, although it might not relate so much towards Necromancy...Hope you enjoy this too...  
_

* * *

**Chapter 4: Kyuubi**

The sun was bright and the air around the Sand Village was as hot as ever. Sakura sighed as she placed her cup of water down on the table. Sasuke sat opposite her, drinking tea, he was, once again playing with the bell, Ranna. Sakura cocked her head to the side and sipped on her water.

"Why do you keep playing with Ranna?" she asked, making him stop whatever he was doing.

"…"

Sakura sighed again, looks like she wouldn't be getting an answer from that question. She stared out the window, wondering where Neji and Naruto had gone. When she had turned around just now from looking at the blade, they had disappeared. When she asked Sasuke, he merely shrugged.

"It was…my mother's favorite bell." He said quietly, catching Sakura off guard. She smiled slightly.

"Oh…I see. How is your mother faring?"

"…she's dead." He replied, shocking Sakura. She stared at him, slightly guilty for bringing up the topic.

"I'm sorry…" she said, looking away. Sasuke stayed silent, but continued to play with Ranna.

Suddenly, Sakura saw something slipped into the room. She stood up, alarmed while Sasuke just continued to finger Ranna, seemingly never bored of it.

"Sasuke…was there…something that came in?" she asked, looking at the raven haired boy. Sasuke sighed and placed Ranna on the table.

"Kyuubi, the girl is a guest. She won't do any harm to us." Sasuke said, and Sakura just raised an eyebrow.

"Kyuu…bi?"

"But Sasuke, she has the smell of a necromancer…" a voice said, making Sasuke frown.

"My words are final. Do you forget the person who extracted you?" he growled, clearly impatient.

"Do not think so highly of yourself Sasuke. You may have helped me, but you are no master of mine." As soon as those words were uttered, an orange brown fox materialized in front of Sasuke.

Sakura stood there, slightly aghast. It was the same fox cub from the visions she saw. The little fox was the size of a puppy, with smooth orange brown fur and the sharpest red eyes she ever seen. The fox attempted to nip at Sasuke's hands that was on the table, but a glare from the onyx eyed boy stopped his actions.

"Do not make me bind you again, Kyuubi." Sasuke said, petting the fox. The fox growled, but did not move.

"The Charter magic on this collar is enough, don't you think Sasuke?" the animal gritted out, making Sasuke smirk.

"Perhaps so, but you may need a little reminding of who's in charge here sometimes."

The fox scoffed, or at least tried to. "Then I would have been better off in Naruto's body." It said, lying down.

Throughout the whole conversation, Sakura stood staring at the two, confused about what was happening. It was then Sasuke noticed her confused expression.

"Oh, sorry bout that. Sakura, this is Kyuubi." He said, gesturing for her to come over. She obliged, and looked closer at the fox. It had a red collar around it's neck, glowing with Charter marks and flowing with chakra. Red eyes followed her every movement, making her feel nervous.

"Err…why is it called Kyuubi?" she asked.

"I thought you knew Konoha History?" Sasuke said, smirking. Sakura coughed, getting red in the face.

"I know. But is this fox really the Kyuubi in History? He seems…small…"

Sasuke chuckled, earning another attempted bite from the small creature. "You do remember it was sealed inside a child?"

Sakura nodded.

"That child…was Naruto." Sasuke stated, petting Kyuubi again.

"Wha…?" Sakura was astonished. "Then how…the Kyuubi…"

"We decided to extract him one day, since he was causing too much trouble, getting out of control using Naruto's body. Of course, it took us a few years to come up with the Charter spell, but we manage in the end." Sasuke replied casually, making Sakura gap at him.

"Then…in the form of a fox?" she asked, making him smirk.

"It is…a complicated spell. We made sure Kyuubi was weakened before we extracted him. It was like gambling with our lives though, to extract a beast that was sealed by the Yondaime. And somehow that collar around him," Sasuke pointed to Kyuubi's collar. "Is the only thing that can bind him into that shape."

Sakura took a closer look at the collar, and she noticed an exact replica of a bell on it. "Then the bell…?"

"Supposedly Ranna. To calm him when he goes wild."

"So…he's tame?" she questioned again. Sasuke nodded.

"The worst he can do now is to cast some spells, but nothing we can't undo for now."

Sakura smiled slightly. "So…can I hug him?"

Sasuke looked amused when she asked him that, and the Kyuubi merely yawned. "I suppose so…" Sasuke said, and Kyuubi stopped his yawn midway.

"Wha…Sasuke, I am not a to-" he couldn't finish his sentence, for when Sasuke had agreed Sakura swept Kyuubi into her arms and squeezed him.

"Kawaii!!!!" she giggled, stroking the soft fur of his, while he tried to scratch the girl.

"Insolent human! Let me go!" he wiggled around, but since he was so little, it only made him look cuter to Sakura. Sasuke was trying to hold in his laughter, looking at Kyuubi, the beast who had once destroyed half of Konoha, now helpless at the hands of a teenage girl.

After a good ten minutes however, Kyuubi had stopped struggling, facing the fact that no matter how many time he scratched her, or how many times he nipped at her hands, she still held on to him. Sasuke by then, was clutching his stomach, still holding in his laughter.

"I never…thought I'd see…the day that Kyuubi would be cuddled!!" Sasuke laughed, acting very out of character.

Kyuubi snorted but remained where he was, since Sakura didn't let him go anyway. She was still stroking Kyuubi, and giggling at Sasuke's antics. When Sasuke stopped laughing, she sat down again.

"So where are you guys headed to next?" Sakura asked.

* * *

"Nejiiiiii…" Naruto whined, getting tired from walking under the hot sun. The Sand Village was not on his favorite village list, but it was the only village at where they were known and where they could stay for free the longest, having saved Gaara from the Akatsuki once. The Akatsuki is an organization, formed by a group of necromancers who were once top in their respective villages, but were later bored of it. So they decided that 'justice' and 'peace' was too common, and that 'havoc' plus 'dectruction' was more entertaining. Sasuke had described them as 'f-king bastards with f-cked up lives', just because his brother was in it. 

"Shut up Naruto." Neji grumbled, clearly not enjoying it either. "Why does he live so far?" Neji cursed.

"Neji? Naruto?" A voice from behind them spoke, making them turn around. Neji smirked when he saw the person.

"Shisui…"

Uchiha Shisui, the third remaining Uchiha from Konoha. He was suppose to have died when Uchiha Itachi killed him in order to gain the Magenkyou Sharingan, but miraculously, he survived. No one knew how, but Shisui said he saw a girl, though it was a blur to him, he said that the girl healed him in time. Till this day however, no one knows the real story.

"Just the person we were looking for." Neji said, making Naruto tilt his head to the side.

"We were?" and he received a knock to his head.

* * *

"We're not so sure yet." Sasuke answered, and Sakura nodded. "What about you?" 

She shook her head. "I don't know. I just go wherever my heart takes me. I know it's kinda stupid, but I really don't know where else to go."

Sasuke smiled slightly. She reminded him of himself when he was younger, and when he was with less confidence. But the difference was, she dared to follow her heart, while he rejected it. He preferred to take cautious actions, and thus, never gave in to what his heart had called out to.

"It's not stupid…" he whispered, making Sakura blush.

She shifted in her seat and stared out the window again, and her eyes widened when she saw a familiar shade of maroon.

"Shiro!" she exclaimed, getting up so abruptly that she forgot about Kyuubi on her lap. The small fox yelped and jumped off, getting out of the way as Sakura ran out of the inn. Sasuke stood up too, following the pink haired girl out, grabbing Kyuubi by the neck while going out.

* * *

Haruno Shiro walked through the crowd in the Sand village, he was not enjoying the heat of the blazing sun above him. He knew he had to move quickly in order to reach the Cloud village by nightfall. He also knew that his sister had already reached the Sand village, and it was all the more reason to move with haste. If his sister found him here, it would mean giving her an explanation he did not have. 

"_For the love of the Charter…move it!"_ he screamed mentally in his head. The crowds were already suffocating him, and he wanted to move badly. He could have resorted to jumping using the walls, but his sister would surely noticed him somehow. But then he reasoned with himself, that there was no way Sakura would actually spot him…right?

Wrong.

"SHIRO!" a high pitched voice rang out. Shiro cursed himself, this day couldn't get any worse, could it?

Wrong _again._

"AHHHH!!! THE DEAD HAS MANAGE TO BREAK PAST THE BARRIER!!" someone screamed, and that's when all hell broke loose.

Everyone was running for their homes, children were seen on the streets, crying, while some were picked up by adults, some were left standing. Sakura couldn't see with all the people running around, and she lost track of her brother.

"No…NO!! SHIROOOO!!" she screamed, looking around frantically for her brother. Sasuke came as he heard the shout about the Dead breaking past the barrier. He saw Sakura looking around in the panic crowd, and he dashed towards her, grabbing her arm.

"Sakura! It's not safe…didn't you hear-"

"I have to find him!" she cried, ignoring Sasuke's protest. He swore when a person knocked into them, making him lose his balance, but regaining it by clutching the wall beside him.

"Sakura!" he yelled, shaking her. She snapped back and looked at him, Kyuubi on his shoulder.

"Sasuke…" she whimpered, and Sasuke released her, afraid that he had hurt her.

"Come on, I need my bells." He said, dragging her back to the inn.

* * *

"What the…" Neji exclaimed when he heard the same shout. 

"The Dead manage to penetrate the barrier? Impossible!" Naruto exclaimed.

"It could be that it's a diversion…" Shisui muttered, ignoring the crowd that were running past them.

"Tch, whatever it is, we have to get back first." Neji said, turning around towards the direction of the inn.

Naruto nodded, and started running back first while Neji talked to Shisui.

"I'm going back first, to see if it's real. What about you?"

"I'm heading back to my place, then I'll come to the inn." Shisui said, and they both parted ways.

* * *

Sasuke strapped on his belt and made sure the bells were safely in the holders, before grabbing his blade, Chidori and heading out. Kyuubi sat on his head, despite knowing that the young Uchiha hated it. But there was no time to complain, so he just ignored the extra burden on his head. 

"Sasuke…" Sakura said, jogging towards him. Sasuke held up his hand.

"Stay here." He commanded, and Sakura shook her head.

"I want to see if I can get my brother." She said stubbornly.

"Tch…" Sasuke sighed. "Come on."

* * *

**Dark: **Err...I know Sasuke is kinda...OOC here... 

**Sasuke: **... ...What do you mean...'kinda'!?

**Dark: **Un...okay, REALLY OOC here...

**Sakura: **No duh...I was shocked.

**Dark: **That he could actually laugh?

**Sakura:** No, that he let a fox on his head. ((giggles))

**Sasuke:** ... ...I hate you both.

**Sakura: **((gasp)) You hate me?? ((teary eyes))

**Sasuke: **((sweat)) No...not that...

**Dark: **((laughs)) whatever man...xD Review pls!!


	5. Chapter 5

**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**

**Grapefruit.ninja**

**Sakura angel 4eva**

**Moona-chan**

**rebel-girl - **yup! Akatsuki is in, no worry! xD**  
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**little sasuke kun**  
_**  
A/N:** Me equals to no good in fighting scenes, so you'll havta forgive me for that...I'll try to improve my writing, but I think this chapter has revert back to my old style...gahh...I'll promise to write better!!!_

_Ohh yeah...I received a flame review... and I...laughed. No seriously, I remember I was on the phone when I saw it, and I laughed so much my friend thought I went crazy. Because the reviewer said it is unoriginal...of course it is, I got it from Sabriel...xD Badly written, means he/she took the time to read it...so...yeah...I can go on and on, but we have a story waiting!! hope you enjoy!! xD _

* * *

**Chapter 5: Clairvoyance **

Sharp green eyes narrowed as they observed the man who had shouted, he was grinning with glee that the people around him panicked as they ran for their homes. A boy, no older than seventeen stood on top of a building, glaring at the distance.

There was no dead that had penetrated the barrier, he'd be damned if they did, after all, he's the one who's controlling the barrier surrounding the Sand Village.

"Temari, Kankuro."

A blond haired girl with her hair up in four ponytails and a guy with purple markings on his face appeared beside him. The guy smirked, staring at the crowd below them, immediately spotting the man that started the trouble.

"So, should we get him?" the blond, known as Temari asked.

"Feh, why would they use this kind of distraction?" Kankuro, the guy with the purple markings asked, shaking his head.

"Temari, Kankuro, this is serious." The red haired boy that called them said.

Temari and Kankuro nodded. "I know, but don't you think it's kind of…I dunno…off?"

"Trying to get in the village by using this method, the guards at the entrance were trained for this, Gaara."

The red haired boy sigh, being an Oracle was not easy. "I know. Go check it out, I think there's more to this than meets the eye."

Both mage nodded and took off without another word, leaving the Oracle of the village alone again.

* * *

Sasuke and Sakura ran out of the inn just as Naruto came running in. They almost collided with each other, had Sasuke not pulled Sakura to the side with his fast reflex. Naruto took the fall and landed face first to the ground. 

"Damn it!" he yelled, rubbing his nose. "Teme!"

Sasuke shrugged, turning towards the door again. Naruto stood up, grabbing his weapon pouch from the table and strapping it on. "So you heard it too?"

The Uchiha nodded, throwing him a small bottle. "Holy water, just in case."

Naruto pocketed the bottle, and gave Sakura a reassuring smile because she was sending him a worried look. No doubt about the fall he took.

"Where's Neji?" Sasuke asked as they pushed their way through the thinning crowd to the main gates.

"He was talking to Shisui just now. Apparently, he needed to talk to him, but we were interrupted by that shout. Do you think it's true?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I doubt it, Gaara would have informed us as he controls the barrier. I don't think the dead are smart enough to get around it."

"Even the…" Naruto's sentence was cut short by a glare from Sasuke, and thankfully Sakura didn't noticed, because she had spotted Shiro jumping on the rooftop.

"Shiro!" she shouted, jumping up on the building. Sasuke and Naruto watched as the girl chased after a maroon haired boy.

"Hey wait a sec, isn't that…Haruno Shiro?" Naruto exclaimed, straining his eyes to see.

Sasuke glanced up, recognizing the hair color and cursing his memory.

"_No wonder the name sounded so familiar! She's Shiro's sister!"_

* * *

"_Damn damn damn!!"_ Shiro cursed as he sprinted further from his sister. _"Why did she have to see me?!"_

He quickly dropped from the roof to the ground and into an alley. He hid himself carefully and held his breath until he heard her footsteps fading away. He let out his breath and quickly began forming Charter marks with his finger on air, he cast an illusion spell on himself to avoid Sakura.

"That should do it…" he muttered, looking at a small mirror he always carried around, noting that his hair had changed to brown. She would never expect that.

"Shiro?"

He stiffened, and slowly looked back, and almost fell in relief when he saw a pair of onyx eyes.

"Shisui."

The Uchiha smiled and nodded. "What are you doing here? I thought you would be in Cloud by now?"

Shiro shrugged, his now blue eyes keeping a look out for Sakura. "I got delayed by the dead on my way pass here."

"Something is going to happen soon."

Shiro nodded. "I was on my way to find out exactly, but since this happened, I'm guessing it won't be too long."

Shisui rolled his eyes. "So much for peaceful."

They both chuckled and Shiro then turned around. "I need to get going, Gaara is expecting me before I leave."

Shisui nodded. "Oh, by the way, I didn't know it was a habit to avoid your own sister."

The brown haired boy glared at the Uchiha, who had a mischievous smirk on his face as he waved him off. "Just go, I was only joking."

* * *

Sakura ran through the empty streets, sweat rolling down her face as she slowed down to catch her breath. The wind ruffled her pink hair, as her emerald eyes glanced around for any signs of her brother. 

"Shiro…"

The thought of her brother being so close brought a sense of relief to her, for she thought that she wouldn't be able to see him for another long period of time. Her journey had been his decision, but her path to take had been her own. She sighed, so far she had not gotten any sign which would lead her on her path.

"Sakura!"

The said girl turned to see Naruto and Sasuke coming in her direction, with Neji a little behind.

"Man, I didn't know you could do that!" Naruto exclaimed once they reached her. Sakura tilted her head to the side.

"Do what?"

"Jumping and running so fast!" he grinned, patting her on the back. "I didn't know the academy trained students to do that."

Sasuke snorted. "It's basic knowledge dobe. Besides, mages need to run fast if they're retreating."

Naruto glared at him and started bickering, while Neji walked over to Sakura.

"Are you okay?"

Sakura nodded, leaning against the wall. She had lost him, but she had her hopes up that she would meet him again soon. It would seem that her day was getting better after all.

* * *

They sat around the table, no one had spoke since they came back to the inn. The newcomer, Shisui, Sakura noted kept glancing at her and she swore he was always going to say something before shaking his head and went back to staring out the window. 

"All right." Sasuke said, catching everyone's attention.

Gaara had informed Sasuke that the fact about the dead penetrating the barrier was a false alarm, and they had caught the culprit and were now interrogating him. The only thing they had for Sasuke though, was that the culprit was working under one 'Orochimaru'.

"We'll leave the village tomorrow at dawn."

Naruto stared at him. "Where to?"

"Waterfall. The man came from there and Gaara requested us to check it out."

Neji nodded. "From there, where do we go?"

"Depends on what we find out. We might have a run in with Orochimaru's people again, so it's best to prepare for battles."

"I'll prepare Holy Water for you three." Shisui said. "I don't think Sasuke needs them though, since his bells and will power are more than enough."

Sasuke nodded. "Sakura, you might want to sit this one out…"

"What?" she exclaimed. "You're joking. How can I sit this one out?"

"You haven't decided on the path you're going to take, and this is our business to take care off."

Sakura shook her head. "Listen, I'm going and that's that. I feel like this is what I need to do. Plus I might see Shiro again."

The guys smirked at her stubborn behavior and watched as the young Uchiha racked a hand through his hair. "Fine. I won't be responsible for you though."

"You don't have to!" Sakura shot back, glaring at him for treating her like a kid.

Naruto laughed while Neji and Shisui chuckled, Sasuke just stared at her, wondering how he got himself involved with this girl.

* * *

"They're coming…it was foolish to send that idiot to do the job…" 

A pale man chuckled.

"It's going the way I want it…don't worry."

A redhead scoff. She didn't look pleased. "He getting caught and leaking information was part of your plan?"

"If it brings _her_ to me, then yes."

"Her?" one of them asked, confusion clearly in his voice. "You go through all the trouble, just to get a girl?!"

"A girl." The redhead repeated, crossing her arms. "You made us go through so much for a damn girl?"

The pale man stared at the angry faces of his underlings. "She is different than what you think…her powers are what I'm after, not her."

They visibly relaxed, and the girl sighed. "What's so special about her? I thought the Uchiha was."

"Yes…she has what the Uchiha clan has…Clairvoyance…"

* * *

"Hachiu!" 

Sakura sniffed. Someone was talking about her.

"Sakura-chan?"

Said girl turned to see Naruto with concern on etched on his face. "You okay? You look a lil pale…"

Sakura flashed him an assuring smile. "Don't worry Naruto! I'm fine." He didn't look too convinced, but he let it go anyway. Sakura had been coughing since they left the village, which was three days ago. Neji had checked and assure them that it was a common cough, and there was nothing to worry about. Sasuke had nodded, while Shisui gave her some medicine. Now though, they didn't really seemed convinced it was just cough.

"Sakura, are you really feeling okay?" Shisui asked, handing her some medicine as they sat around the fire.

She nodded, drinking the medicine he passed. Sasuke and Neji were discussing her condition. If it worsen, they had to send her back. Sasuke stood up after that was decided.

"I'm going to the river, the area doesn't feel too safe…" he muttered, turning heels and left.

Naruto sighed. "There aren't any dead or unseen here, right?"

Neji and Shisui shrugged. "I hope not." Shisui added. "I can't use 'it'. Without Sasuke here, unseen are the worse enemies."

Sakura cocked an eyebrow. "It? What's 'it'?"

Shisui chuckled nervously. "It's nothing Sakura-chan…"

Suddenly, Neji jumped up. "Naruto!"

The blonde boy whipped around quickly, turning to the place Neji had been staring at. "Unseen? Dead?"

"Both!" Neji yelled, as he drew out his blade. His staff strapped securely on his back, he didn't normally use it.

Shisui cursed, luck had been bad on them. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen, and if there really were ghosts, he was currently the only one to be able to see them.

Neji and Naruto dove towards the enemies to finish them off, but there were too many of them. "What the hell?!" Naruto yelled as he cut through another corpse. "How didn't we notice this many?"

"Damn! Where's Sasuke!?" Neji winced as an unseen sliced the air, creating a gash on his back.

"Neji! Unseen behind you!"

Neji brought down his holy blade, cutting thin air, but he felt it. He had just brought down an unseen. He didn't stop to think as he defended himself from the dead that was coming towards them.

But as suddenly as they had appeared, something in the distance starting ringing, the dead and unseen were forced down to the ground, immobile.

Neji, Naruto, Sakura and Shisui turned to see Sasuke walking calmly down the hill, an eerie aura around him. His eyes were bleeding red, reminding Sakura of blood. He looked furious, his right hand holding a tiny bell high.

"Damn you all back to hell." He growled, before ringing Kibeth the walker, seeing no need in using the binder, Saraneth.

Slowly, the dead turned to ash and faint moans from the unseen could be heard as Sasuke continued to ring Kibeth. Sakura stared in awed as she watch the necromancer at work.

"_He truly is like an Uchiha who walks the dead back to Death…"_

After finishing, Sasuke, who had stood very still on top of the hill moved, placing his bell back into the holder. He shook his head to rid of the dizziness he always experience when he walked the dead to death.

He was on his way back to camp when he was suddenly ambushed by a horde of dead and unseen. He wasn't worry about it, but he was worried about the condition in camp. If there were unseens, then they would have a problem. Shisui couldn't use his sharingan, it had been damaged since the massacre and was still healing. He dispose of them quickly and ran back to camp, just in time to see Sakura shouting at Neji about the unseen behind him.

"_But how?" _Sasuke wondered as he stared at the girl. Shisui and the others were sitting down while Sakura tended to them. _"She's just a normal mage…how could she see the unseens?" _

"Sakura."

The pink haired girl turned to face the Uchiha. "Yes?"

Naruto, Neji and Shisui had taken an interest when the teen had called her name, and even Kyuubi poked his head out of Sakura's bag.

"How…could you see the unseen?" he asked bluntly.

Sakura blinked. She had forgotten about the unseen, who was named that because they could not be seen with the naked eye. Being gifted with the ability of clairvoyance, she had always seen these…things.

"I…"

Sasuke stared at her, contemplating whether it was a good idea or not to have invited her along. Well, he didn't. But he really needed to know if she could be trusted.

"Look, I know you won't trust me." She said, as though reading his mind. "But, it's complicated."

Naruto sighed. "Just spit it out Sakura-chan. Sasuke told you I had the Kyuubi inside me right? So what more can be worse?" he chuckled as Kyuubi growled.

Sakura smiled slightly, seeing the point in his words. "I have the gift of Clairvoyance."

* * *

**dark: **That was a long wait wasn't it? It's kinda short though...or I think it is...

**Sasuke:** Of course it was short, why do I only use the bells? what about my cool katana?

**dark:** ... ... shove a sock in it _**gay**_.

**Sakura: **((laughs))

**Sasuke: **((grumble))

**dark:** Please review!! xD and...and...er...I'll update faster? Like **Military**!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Thanks to those who reviewed!!**

**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me -** hehe...yep! I'll always do that...unless its...I duno...xD**  
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**lacusclien4 - **It's an awesome book by Garth Nix. About necromancy and stuff...but I added in stuff here and there...

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**hi!  
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_**A/N: **Been busy with exams and stuff!! School, as usual. This'll probably be my last update until December. Hopefully I'll be able to update my other two story before getting cut of from internet for two months. haha... well, hope y'll enjoy this chappie too!  
_

* * *

**Chapter 6: Cursed Seal of Heaven **

Uchiha Shisui has seen many strange and unbelievable things in his life, yes, that includes seeing the light when he almost died by Uchiha Itachi's hands. Even so, what the girl in front of them said, was clearly barking madness.

"Clairvoyance." He repeated, staring straight into her jaded green eyes.

Sakura scowled at their looks, they had the 'I'm not buying this shit' look written all over their faces. "If you do not believe me, pray explain to me why I can see the Unseens." She drawled out, making the boys snap back to reality.

"Err…well…" Naruto began, obviously at lost. "B-but…clairvoyance…Uchiha…"

Sasuke held up his hand, his eyes were hard but were staring at the girl before them. Naruto took his signal and clammed his mouth shut immediately, not wanting to face the Uchiha's wrath. Shisui was still trying to digest the information Sakura had relayed onto them, not that he believed it of course. Having able to see the Unseens really meant that Sakura actually had the clairvoyance ability, but when a person has that ability, there would be something…different about them…something about…

"Your eyes, they don't change colors or anything, right?" Sasuke questioned, watching her shift nervously under his gaze. She shook her head.

"I don't think so, I never looked into the mirror when I see Unseens…" she muttered. Silently she was cursing everything she could think of. Maybe she didn't have the clairvoyance, maybe it was just her six sense (yeah right), or maybe she was delusional. Though she highly doubted the last one.

Sasuke appeared to be deep in thought, as he didn't even turn his head when Kyuubi jumped onto his shoulder. Shisui sighed, furrowing his brows as he thought of their options. They could just dismiss this as a misunderstanding, but what would explain how Sakura was able to see the Unseens? As far as they knew, only the Sharingan was able to locate them. Even the Byakugan could just barely make out the shape!

The moonlight gave them the sufficient amount of light they needed to see Sakura's fear in her eyes, she was obviously scared of what they might do to her. Sasuke didn't seem like he was going to do anything soon, and Shisui sighed again. _"Might as well go for it then."_

"Alright." He said, catching everyone's attention, minus Sasuke. "Neji, Naruto. Set up camp near the river, we'll be safe for now."

The two mages nodded in agreement and set off to work, leaving the two Uchihas and Sakura alone. Kyuubi still sat on Sasuke's shoulder, clearly interested in what was going to happen. Sakura was silent, looking anywhere but the two males in front of her. Finally, Sasuke lifted his head and met her gaze.

"It is…possible."

Shisui and Sakura snapped their heads towards him, both mouthing the same thing at the same time. "Huh?!"

Sasuke frowned. "I just said it's possible. You can't tell me that the Uchiha clan was the only ones capable of having the clairvoyance ability can you?"

Shisui nodded, seeing the point in his reply. "Yeah, Shi- I mean, someone said something about this to me before…" he scratched the back of his head, cursing for the almost slip up about him knowing Shiro in front of Sakura.

Sakura however, did not noticed and was staring at the younger Uchiha, eyes wide. "S-so…it…isn't weird or anything?"

Sasuke lifted one brow. "Not saying that it isn't weird, just that it's possible."

Without knowing it, Sakura let out a breath she'd been holding since she confessed. She slumped to the ground, heaving short breaths as though she had just ran a mile. "I thought…for a moment…you'd see me as a freak or something…" she said, smiling slightly.

Shisui chuckled, and knelt down beside her. "Now why would we do that? We already have Kyuubi" he gestured towards the small fox on Sasuke's shoulder. "So what else can be weirder?"

Sakura nodded, but Sasuke still didn't seem too convinced about what he said. He just shook his head and turned to walk towards the camp site. This was going to be an interesting trip.

* * *

"_It burns…"_

Sakura started coughing violently in the middle of the night, alerting her companions from their slumber. She covered her mouth and tried to breath as she coughed, her throat felt like it was on fire.

"Water…!" she gasped, clutching her throat. Naruto hastily grabbed his water pouch and handed it to her, making sure she drank without choking. Shisui was already rummaging his pack for her medicine he brewed a few days before, wondering what went wrong with his med skills.

"Dose for normal cough…that would have been enough unless she's having something stronger…" Shisui began to panic as he passed the medicine to Neji, who was taking over Sakura as Naruto went to the river to get cool water. Sasuke was nowhere to be seen and Shisui began to worry.

He glanced up at the sky, thinking hard. What was it that made tonight any different? Sasuke wouldn't leave the camp without informing them unless it was urgent. No, nothing seemed out of place, just that the moon was shining unexpectedly brighter tonight…

"Full moon?" Shisui realized, eyes opened and staring at the moon above. "Damn! How could I not seen it?"

Neji heard Shisui exclaimed and turned towards him. "Something wrong?"

Shisui slapped his forehead with his hand. "Neji! Full moon!"

Neji blinked, and started cursing. "Shit. How could we not have noticed?"

"I don't know, maybe because of the events this evening." Shisui replied, glancing around for any sign of the younger Uchiha. "I'll notify Naruto and begin the search. Sasuke didn't want Sakura to worry I suppose. Hell, he didn't even say anything!"

Sakura was already lying back down on her makeshift bed, so she didn't hear any part of the conversation. She was more worried as to why she was feeling this way. She never had any kind of sickness, not once in her life. Even after she knew about her clairvoyant ability, the only time it started was when she met…

"Sasuke…" she whispered, glancing around, she noted that he was not anywhere in sight.

She sat up from her bed, feeling slightly better after having her drink of water. Neji and Shisui were conversing in hurried whispers and didn't seem to notice that Sakura was now standing up. She considered interrupting them to ask where Sasuke had gone, but judging from their looks, they were discussing something urgent, so she left them alone.

Naruto was walking the short distance back when he saw his pink haired companion leaving the camp site. He stood there, mouth open in shock as she walk swiftly and quietly away. Kyuubi, who was sitting on his shoulder bit his ear. "We have to go after her!" Naruto snapped out of his shock and placed the pouch down and started off immediately, only stopping to take his weapon pouch and knocking both Neji and Shisui's heads.

"Dude, she's gone!" Naruto called over his shoulder, disappearing into the night as the other two just stared at where he once was.

"What!?"

* * *

Sasuke let out heavy breaths as he clutch the side of his neck where the 'cursed seal of heaven' was located. The night of the full moon would always be the worse for him unless _he _was killed. The cursed seal he received was the strongest of all seals, draining a lot of chakra when he suppresses it. He leaned against the rough bark of the tree as he let his thoughts wonder, it was the only time he thought about things_ less_…important. 

"Sakura…started coughing the day I started to feel the curse acting up…does it mean something?" he mumbled, his eyes half closed. He was dead tired, having to stay up after the fight, and needing to use all his will power to push the curse back. "If only…that bastard didn't bit me…" he spat bitterly.

He sat there for what seemed like hours, pondering on things that didn't really matter to him if he wasn't so tired. He realized after a while that he didn't even notify the others that he had left the camp site. He sighed, but couldn't bring himself to go now, since he was afraid he might lose control and started attacking them. _"Shisui would come looking for me soon…"_

CRUNCH

His eyes snapped open immediately, body tense and alert while he looked down towards the darkness, only aided by the moonlight._  
_

_"Shisui?"_

No, he thought. Shisui would not make any noise, and he would have sensed him on the tree using chakra. He groaned softly and he shifted his weight slowly as to not alert the person or whatever was down there. He could feel his control slipping, if that wasn't Shisui down there, he hope it was either Neji or Naruto. If he got out of control, he wouldn't calm down until he saw blood.

"Sasuke…?"

Shit. He was in deep shit. He resisted the urge to pound his head into the bark behind him. Sakura was down there and he needed to get away before his control completely slipped. He tested to see if his legs would move, but immediately halted his movements when he sensed something else down there. He strained his ears to listen for any sudden movements, and he caught one, just behind…

"SAKURA!"

* * *

Naruto froze on the spot, sensing something amiss in front of him. "Kyuubi…" 

The fox sniffed and growled lightly, alerting Naruto to another's presence. He slid a kunai out from the pouch and made sure his staff was strapped securely behind his back. "Is it the Dead or a Ghost?"

"Dead. Rotten smell in the air. I can smell the other two too." Came the reply, and Kyuubi bounded off his shoulder, walking to lead Naruto.

Naruto heard Neji and Shisui behind him, he silently pointed his kunai so that the moonlight reflected on it, letting his companions know that they had company. Shisui took out a flute while Neji pulled his staff from behind, both ready for any ambush ahead.

They didn't have to wait long, the forest went dead silent before a horrible cry echoed throughout it, as the Dead emerged from the hard cold ground at their feet.

* * *

Sakura reacted immediately after hearing her name, her hands shot up to draw charter marks, bringing up a weak force field as the first Dead tried to grab her. She gasped as she saw many others emerging, either from behind trees or the ground beneath her. 

"What the hell!?" she cried.

After shouting her name in warning, Sasuke had jumped down, katana drawn and eyes bleeding red. The only thing different about him was, he was smiling. Not the normal smirk or sincere smile, Sakura noted, but a rather sinister and creepy one.

"Fucking bastards…" Sasuke drawled, swinging his katana around almost lazily. "Didn't learn your lessons?" he chuckled, and the Dead somehow stepped back from him, seemingly afraid.

Sakura stood behind him in shock, she had never heard Sasuke talk or _chuckle_ like that before. Her force field was still up, despite her weak charter spell. _"What's wrong with him!?"_

Sasuke brought his katana near his face before smirking and disappearing in a blur. Sakura blinked, but heard the moans of the Dead as something sliced through each and every one of them in less than a second. She screamed as some of the rotten blood landed on her face and clothes, and almost ran had Sasuke not sliced through her barrier and smirked at her.

"Why are you screaming?" he asked, eyeing her wide green eyes. She gulped as she saw his katana dripping with black blood. He casually swiped it to the side, effectively getting ride of most of the blood. "I'm doing this to protect you, Sakura-_chan_."

She instantly inched away from him, knowing that he never, NEVER called her that. Hell, she would think the world was coming to an end if he started saying her name like that. She shivered violently from the aura that Sasuke was emitting. Before he could make another move, another horde of Dead came charging in their direction. Sasuke smirked again, turning slightly to eye them.

"They never learn."

Then, the forest was lit up with light emitting from Sasuke's blade. The light was in a form of lightning that even surrounded Sasuke and Sakura couldn't believe her eyes. He ran through the Dead like it wasn't worth his time, slicing through them thoughtlessly. She clutched both her hands together, praying it would be over soon, even though they were enemies, the moans of the Dead wasn't pleasant. Why couldn't he just walk them to Death like always?

Just as the last Dead dropped to the ground, a blue barrier surrounded Sasuke. He seemed calm about it as Sakura stood up, glancing around. Shisui, Naruto and Neji emerged from some trees, heaving heavy breaths. They were not injured too badly, but still suffered some damage. Neji, Sakura noted, had his staff out for the first time on this trip. It was glowing blue, so she assumed it was him that cast the barrier around Sasuke.

"Sakura-chan!"

Naruto ran towards Sakura, checking her for injuries. "Did they hurt you? Did he hurt you?"

Sakura just numbly shook her head, not caring who Naruto was referring to. Her green eyes were fixed on the barrier which contained Sasuke. He wiped the black blood off his blade and sheathed it, looking at Neji and Shisui. He seemed much more composed than before.

"You're late."

Shisui and Neji nodded. "There was more Dead around. We had a little ambush."

Sasuke shrugged. "Doesn't matter. The curse is retracting now. I've seen blood. Damn thing was too strong this time."

"You didn't tell us." Shisui pointed out. "We could have helped you."

Sasuke sighed. "I thought I could handle it, and I could have, if you guys had kept an eye on her." He pointed towards Sakura. "If I hadn't jumped down, she would be among the Dead now."

Naruto had Sakura on his back and was making his way towards the others. "Hey, Sakura fainted." He looked at Sasuke. "What did you do to her?"

Neji still held up his barrier. "She went into shock?"

Shisui felt her forehead and neck. "At least she's not burning up. Seems like her cough will be better too."

"I killed Dead in front of her, if she didn't go into shock then she's not a girl." Sasuke said, walking towards the camp. He only stopped when he reached the end of the barrier, lifting a brow at Neji. Neji sighed, but lowered the barrier.

"Wasn't sure if you were calmed."

* * *

Shiro studied the reports the Kazekage had gave him, he noticed that recently, the Waterfall village had many accidents around the borders. He pointed it out and Gaara nodded. 

"It just started recently. We're not sure what's causing it, but we suspect that Waterfall is trying to not let foreign people get in."

Shiro frowned. "Why is that? Are they saying they're really hiding something, or _someone_ there?"

Gaara sighed. "We've been trying to infiltrate the village for a while, but still no avail."

"Did you inform them?" Shiro asked, looking out the window.

"Shisui is aware, as he was one of those who went to investigate this." The red head said, leaning back against his chair. "He was the one who tried to infiltrate with no avail. He said security was tight. Even if he managed to sneak in, there was no guarantee that he would succeed in reaching the destination."

Shiro nodded slowly, scanning the rest of the reports. "So what is it you need me to do?"

The Kazekage took out another folder, handing it to Shiro before starting. "That's the information of one of my guardians here. I need you to find out if he's undercover. He's been acting weirdly since the false alarm the other day."

"Why can't you just interrogate him?"

"I'm not merciless, Shiro." Gaara said, lifting his eyebrow. "I would prefer to actually have some information, not a traumatic patient again."

Shiro chuckled. "Yeah yeah, leave the boring work to me again."

He stood up, flipping through the file again. He frowned when he noticed the lack of background information. "Why did you take him in if there's a lack of background information? He could very well be an assassin."

Gaara smirked. "And I would care because…?"

Shiro gave him a look. "Oh, sorry. My bad. It's suppose to be, why do you even bother hiring guards?"

"The image. People will worry if their village Oracle isn't protected you know."

Shiro smiled. "Alright oh-mighty-one. I'll be leaving now. Don't do anything reckless when I'm gone."

"Have I ever?" Gaara asked, a dark glint in his eyes.

"Don't even make me start." Shiro said, walking out of the door.

* * *

Sakura slowly opened her eyes, only to see blond. She blinked her eyes and lifted her hands to rub her eyes, and knocked her hands against something. 

"Ow!"

Her green eyes widened when Naruto turned his head to the back to face her. "Oh, hey Sakura-chan!"

Sakura looked around, and noticed that it was already morning. Sasuke was walking in front, dismissing Naruto's shout as usual. Neji and Shisui were walking beside Naruto, while Sakura was on Naruto's back.

"Er…why am I here?"

Shisui smiled. "Sorry, we wanted to make a move, but you wouldn't wake up. We decided to carry you as we go. Your backpack is with Neji by the way."

Sakura looked towards Neji and saw him carrying another pack on his shoulder. He shrugged like it was nothing, and continued walking. Sakura nodded, then turned to Naruto.

"So…can I get down now?"

Naruto shook his head. "Sakura-chan, you're still slightly sick, so I'll carry you. It's okay!"

Shisui nodded. "I'm not sure how bad your sickness is, so until Naruto gets tired, which I doubt he will, he'll carry you."

"B-but I don't want to trouble him!" Sakura said, embarrassed.

"The dobe is fine, Sakura." Sasuke threw over his shoulder, not turning around.

Shisui chuckled. "Like Sasuke says, Naruto will be fine. I'll take over if he can't. I suggest you sleep, Sakura."

Sakura nodded uncertainly. She glanced at Naruto's face, but she noticed that he wasn't even breaking a sweat. Even Neji and Sasuke didn't look tired, though she could swear everyone was battling Dead yesterday…

"What…happened yesterday?"

Sasuke seem to stiffen when she mentioned it, but continued walking a distance in front of them. Shisui and Neji remained quiet, and Naruto shrugged.

"We reached your place and you fainted, so we brought you back to camp."

Sakura glanced at Sasuke, not noticing that he was clutching his katana tightly. "But…I remember Sasuke…"

"We'll explain one day, Sakura." Sasuke said quietly, quickening his pace.

Shisui, Neji and Naruto looked stunned when he said that, jaw hanging open as they watch the young Uchiha walk forward. Sakura however, smiled slightly and accepted the answer. She hit Naruto lightly on his blond head. "Hey, he's leaving us behind!"

Shisui and Neji immediately ran towards the Uchiha, intending to check if he was sick, while Naruto just grinned widely. "Looks like that teme is finally cracking the ice huh?"

"What?" Sakura asked, glancing down.

"Nothing Sakura-chan!" the blond said, hurrying forward to catch up.

Unknown to them, their location was near the borders of Waterfall village. Black mages and Dead were already lying in wait for them. Even Shisui couldn't sense them yet, but Sasuke and Sakura were already feeling a tad bit uncomfortable as the air was not calm.

"We've got company." Sasuke growled, glancing to his left, drawing his katana.

* * *

**dark:** HAH! I finish yet another chapter!!!!!! 

**Sasuke:** ...You're annoying.

**dark: **At least I'm straight, unlike you.

**Sasuke: **And since when was I gay?

**dark:** Since you insulted me, that means...wow,_ forever_!! xD

**Sasuke: **... ...lame.

**dark: **Says the one who speaks like he's so cool with his **one** word sentence.

**Sasuke: **Wha...

**Sakura:** Alright!!! _**Shut up!**_

**dark, Sasuke: **Yes madam...

**Sakura:** Finally. Please review dear readers!! ((and add in any suggestions to torture Sasuke in authors note...))

**Sasuke: **Sakura!

**Sakura:** Busted...xD


	7. Chapter 7

_**Thanks to those who reviewed!**_

**Sakura Angel 4eva**

**Nokas-Kokas**

**Cribrius Crusade**

**Depressing Truths**

**Goukatenshi -** Soon...very soon...:D

**J.a.M.i.16 - **Maybe...just maybe...but that's for the later chapters...XD**  
**

**xXWinterXx**

**Zanibarr**

**DemonBrownie - **That's sounds really interesting...((glances at Sasuke)) Maybe I'll include it in the story!**  
**

**lacusclien4**

**iheartoast09**

**Emriel**

**little sasuke kun**

**CrAzY-SiLLy-Me - **ROFL! That'll be pure torture...for him. ((evil laughs)) I'll keep that idea in my mine shadow-chan. XD **  
**

**silverymoonfire -** Haha...she always is in the beginning. :D**  
**

**666Shukakugrl28**

**Sophie Ellem - **haha! You can read em up in wikipedia. Just search Sabriel. :D

**_A/N: _**_Terribly sorry for the freakin late update, hopefully you guys still remember this story...hahaha...well, I've been into DGM lately, so I've been neglecting my Naruto fics. I'm slowly catching up to it, so hope you guys still continue to read and review! Thanks for being patient!_

* * *

**Chapter 7: Daybreak**

"Say what?" Naruto exclaimed, watching as Sasuke unsheathed his katana. His eyes bled red as the presence of the Dead and Black Mages became clearer to them. Ruffling of bushes and shuffling of steps could be heard as the three of them got into battle stances.

Naruto's hold on Sakura tighten and Shisui moved protectively in front of the two, as he was the closest to them. Before Sakura could register what was happening, Neji and Sasuke had already sprang into action, going in opposite directions, they began their attack on their ambushers.

"Naruto, put me down!" Sakura said, clutching his robe tightly. She could see him gritting his teeth, wanting to run into the fight to aid his comrades. "You need to help them!" she continued, seeing that he was about to protest.

"Sakura-chan…" he trailed off, debating on the option. Shisui was still standing in front of them, hitting and avoiding blows from the Dead with his staff. "If you get injured…"

"I won't!" Sakura snapped back, she didn't mean to be angry, but Naruto was stalling. "I can be responsible for my own safety Naruto!"

The blond looked a bit taken back at her outburst, but grinned when he remembered Sasuke saying he wouldn't be responsible for her. Giving in, he set her down on the ground, making sure her back was to a tree so that no one could come from behind. "Alright, alright." He said, digging into his pouch behind his back, pulling out two long kunai. "Stay safe okay?"

Without looking at the girl for a confirmation, Naruto leapt off the ground, crouching on a high branch before diving forward to join the battle. Charter spells and clashing of metals could be heard and seen through the mist of black cloaks and moaning, making Sakura worried. Shisui continued protecting Sakura, biting back another shout of frustration, he hit the Dead with more strength than needed, wasting quite a bit of stamina.

"Kill them!" The leader, Sakura presumed shouted. "Let not one live! No one enters Waterfall!"

Sasuke elbowed a Black Mage in the gut, before slicing through a few Dead with Chidori. There really was no end to them. He would have chosen to use the bells, but with so many Black Mages here, the effect wouldn't hold out as long as they needed to. If only there was someone else that could ring the bells or had another set of bells…

He cursed mentally when he thought of it. How could he have been so stupid?

"Sakura!"

The girl looked up when she heard her name. Kusanagi in her hands, she managed to hold out on her own while Shisui joined the battle, but he was careful not to stray too far from the girl. Neji and Naruto ignored Sasuke's shout, as his voice did not hold any sign that Sakura was in danger. They knew him too well.

"The flutes!"

Sakura's eyes widened in realization of what Sasuke wanted her to do and she nodded, signaling for Shisui to cover her, which he understood. Sasuke dodged another blow from a Dead and managed to avoid a random Charter spell. He slipped Ranna out of the holder and rang it, accompanied by Sakura's flute playing. With the two sounds, the weaker of the Dead were sent back into Death, lessening their number at least by half.

Smirking, Neji cast a fire spell, burning the remaining rotting flesh of the lesser Dead. Naruto hacked through them as their movements slowed thanks to the playing of the flute and bell.

"Neji, Naruto, ignore the Dead." Sasuke said, placing Ranna back. "Get to the head, we need information."

"You got it, teme." Naruto said, leaping over a few Dead as he ran past Black Mages towards the leader.

Aware of their plan, the leader immediately commanded the Dead to fight off the blond mage, and while they were occupying Naruto, the Black Mages advanced towards Sasuke and Neji. "These Black Mages need a life, don't you agree?" Shisui said amusingly, as he stood beside the Byakugan user. He merely nodded his agreement.

"Let's really begin then." Sasuke said, smirking.

Sakura stood behind them, wondering what they were talking about. Really begin? Then what have they been doing?

With movements too fast for her to catch, they began their counterattack. The opposing mages didn't have time to react as one by one they fell, either bleeding in vital areas or out cold. Sakura watched in amazement as she caught Sasuke running his blade through the heart of one mage, then disappearing the next second.

She vaguely heard Naruto shouting above all the commotion, but she was more focused on the scene before her. Neji was hitting some points on the bodies, rendering them out cold and Shisui was merely playing clean up as he drew Charter spells above each mage and the body would burn, leaving only ashes. So focused on their actions, she almost failed to see a Dead behind her, until out of nowhere Kyuubi gave a howl that rivaled a grown wolf.

Naruto's instantly directed his sight towards the howl, shouting a warning towards Sakura. "Sakura! Behind you!"

The other three males turned around in time to see the Dead lifting it's rotten hands to land a strike at Sakura, who flipped backwards. Kyuubi ran towards the Dead, shooting a simple spell to distract it as Sakura grabbed Kusanagi. Sasuke was going towards Sakura when she swung the blade, effectively killing the rotten piece of flesh.

Sakura smiled sheepishly at the surprised look on Sasuke's face, and swung the blade around a bit. "I am trained to kill, Sasuke."

The young Uchiha shook his head, smirking. "One can sometimes forget that when they see how you act though."

Sakura's smile turned into a frown, and she glared at him. "What is _that_ suppose to mean?"

"Nothing…absolutely nothing." Sasuke replied, waving it off. Sakura swung her blade at him, to which he dodged with ease. "Careful there Pinky."

She twitched, bringing the blade down again, only to have Sasuke avoid it. "Stay still!" she exclaimed, clearly agitated. Sasuke chuckled, and the two were clearly not aware of the three pairs of eyes that watched them. Naruto grinned as he tightened his hold on the leader's collar. "I guess the two totally forgot we were in battle?"

Neji shrugged, watching as Shisui cleared off the last of the bodies. "At least he's not eager to tear off anyone's head anytime soon.

* * *

"No good, he won't talk." Naruto said, throwing his hands up in the air. Neji grumbled lightly, kicking the unconscious man on the head.

"Most likely he's too stupid or too loyal." Neji said, shaking his head. "Either way, he's useless to us now." He nudged the man with his foot again, trying to push him into the stream running beside them.

Shisui groaned. "I'm willing to bet it's the first, Waterfall are not known for their loyalty. Maybe he was threatened with something worse than death?" he said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Like Neji said, either way, he's useless." Naruto replied, pushing the man into the stream. Sakura would have felt sorry for the poor Mage, had he not tried to kill her just a few hours ago.

Sasuke had been silent the whole time, taking time to analize the situation. They had caught the leader, but there was no clue to what the Waterfall were hiding. What was so important that they dispatched a whole group of Black Mages to stop anyone from entering the village? He glanced up at the man floating down the stream, away from them.

"What's worse than death anyways?" Sakura piped up, watching the body float. Neji, Naruto and Shisui exchanged glances before looking at Sasuke expectantly, waiting for him to give an answer. Sasuke noticed their look before shrugging, settling down more comfortably against the tree he sat.

"For us Mages, there are only two things worse than death." Sasuke explained, catching everyone's attention. He raised up two fingers, looking more serious. "One, is the normal you can't die and get trapped in the realm of dead for eternity, or until the person who imprison you dies. It's bad because you could be there for hundreds and thousands of years if your captor decides to hand down the spell to his descendants and such."

Sakura nodded, remembering one particular lesson in where Kakashi was telling them about this. You would be stuck in the realm with no sense of time, no feelings of pain or hunger, just wandering aimlessly around for eternity.

"The second is worse than the first." Sasuke continued, holding up one remaining finger. "Have you ever heard of the Glacial Crypt ritual?" he asked, looking at the girl, who shook her head in response. He smirked. "Didn't think so."

"Well, we seldom learn about rituals." Sakura retorted, crossing her arms. Naruto chuckled at the display but said nothing, waiting for the raven haired boy to continue.

"Right." Sasuke said, his voice holding a hint of disbelief. "Anyway, in simpler terms, one would just call it the cold burial ritual." He explained, racking a hand through his spikes. "Like the name, it concerns burial. The difference with the first is that when you're imprison, you can feel everything that goes on, whether it's hunger, sense of time, emotions etcetera."

Sakura's eyes widened. "That's…that's pure torture!" she exclaimed, while the others just nodded.

"Exactly." Sasuke said, setting his hands on his legs. "The other difference with the first is that in the Glacial Crypt ritual, the captor can easily trap your soul in a container, a bottle for example." He paused, bringing out a small bottle. "So you can see where you are, everything that's happening, but you can't do anything. Even if you think you're going to die of hunger or thirst, the spell won't let you, and that's even worse than death."

"Wounds that you get will never heal unless your captor heals you. You can scream or try to break out, but it'll never reach anyone's ears, it's like the container is sound proof." Shisui explained in more detail.

"And yes, it can be passed down to descendants like the first spell." Sasuke finished, tucking the bottle back into his backpack.

Sakura stared at Sasuke, staying silent and processing all that they said about the two things that were worse than death. Konoha had never seen it fit to teach their Mages any forbidden ritual or Charter spell, so she guessed that they had to find out on their own, but she did know that the two most powerful families in Konoha did have scrolls and information on this type of rituals.

"I take it that not many Black Mages are able to do this spell." Sakura finally spoke, and Sasuke nodded.

"It's hard and complicated, requiring a very highly trained Mage, whether white or black." He explained, waving his hand. Neji nodded. "Even the Hyuugas cannot perform this spell without at least three members. And the last time they tried, they all died."

Shisui shrugged. "Which is why we don't have many being entrapped at all." He said, gesturing towards Naruto. "The Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi inside Naruto using an almost similar Charter spell with the Glacial Crypt, but he died in the process, as Konoha history clearly states."

"Anyway…" Sasuke interrupted, and once again all attention was on him. "Let's get back to the main topic." And the others only nodded, sitting down to face him. "Waterfall is hiding something, or someone like Gaara said. The problem is we don't know what."

"It could be someone." Naruto suggested. "After all, Waterfall is not known for their advance technology. That's Konoha's specialty."

Sasuke nodded, seeing the logic in it. "I agree. It could be someone that's a threat to the other nations. That's why Waterfall doesn't allow anyone in."

"But who would be such a threat?" Sakura asked, furrowing her eyebrows. "I mean, the only person who went down in history for being a threat to the whole nation is dead as stated in history."

"Aa, I remember it's…" Sasuke didn't get to finish his sentence because Kyuubi yelped loudly, making all heads turn.

"Well well, if it isn't the survivors." A deep voice drawled out, making Sasuke and Shisui's eyes widened. Two figures emerged from the shades of the woods, shocking the group of the five of them.

"We didn't even sense them!" Naruto hissed, taking a step back.

"Of course not." The other figure growled. "We were trained to not be sensed!"

"Itachi…" Sasuke growled, his eyes bleeding red when he saw the figure step out. Sakura turned towards the elder Uchiha, not believing it.

"Uchiha…Itachi?" she muttered, making Itachi look in her direction. He smirked slightly in amusement.

"What's this…?" he said, turning towards the girl. "You got yourself another companion?"

Neji and Naruto stepped in front of Sakura, shielding her from Itachi. "Get your Akatsuki ass out of here." Naruto spat, drawing his two kunai blades. Shisui drew a quick protection spell for Sakura, as Sasuke seemed too angry to notice anything except his brother.

Itachi chuckled at this, making Sasuke's anger rise more. He drew his blade, pointing it at the elder Uchiha. "What the fuck do you want?" he yelled. "Don't you fucking lay a hand on her." He continued, glaring at the man before him.

Unconsciously, Shisui's hand was shaking after drawing the Charter spell, and no one but Sakura noticed this. Everyone was too focused on Itachi and his partner, there was no time to be thinking about fear. Sakura didn't know about Shisui's near death experience with Itachi, but she could tell he was terrified of something by the appearance of Uchiha Itachi.

"Don't worry." The other figure approached them. He had dark blue skin and his face resembled a shark, and Sakura would have laughed if she didn't know he was dangerous. The Akatsuki were quite a well known group in Konoha, and she knew that Uchiha Itachi had slaughtered his entire clan save for his younger brother, and had joined the Akatsuki.

"We're not here to fight today." He said, laughing. Itachi glared at his partner, but nodded.

"Here." He said simply, tossing a scroll in Sasuke's direction, and he caught it without taking his Sharingan off Itachi. The elder Uchiha smirked.

"We were supposed to enter Waterfall and investigate something, but since you're here, then we know what we need to know." Itachi said lazily, and pointed at the scroll in Sasuke's hands. "That's some information our spies gathered, who knows, it might be useful to you." He drawled, talking like they did not have enough brains to know something.

His partner laughed out again, shaking his head. "Bunch of babies if you asked me, Uchiha." He turned and jumped off, leaving Itachi with the five of them, which four of them were glaring at him.

"Until next time, otouto." Itachi smirked, disappearing in a puff of smoke which left them coughing.

"Otou…to?" Sakura asked as the smoke cleared, while Naruto and Neji swept the place with their eyes to make sure there were no other enemies around.

Sasuke growled in irritation. Trust Itachi to spill everything he tried to hide.

* * *

"Well?" The pale man asked the red head girl, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

The girl shook her head. "They're dead. All except the leader. I can still sense his life force."

His other underling chuckled. "If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself." He said, looking at the pale man.

"Indeed…you make sense." His yellow eyes glowed in the dark, making him look very eerie even to his underlings.

"Karin, see to it that they don't get past the borders into Waterfall." He ordered, and the girl bowed slightly before leaving the room, grumbling under her breath.

"And you Suigetsu." He pointed to the man. "Make sure she doesn't kill the pink haired girl."

Suigetsu groaned, grabbing his huge blade from the table. "Alright…" he muttered, hating to baby-sit anyone. He trudged out of the dark room, chasing after his partner.

This was going to be a boring mission.

* * *

Shiro chewed thoughtfully on an apple as he read through the documents in his hands. Below him, a figure was waiting patiently as he jumped down from the tree, passing him the documents.

"Are you sure it's confirmed?" Shiro asked, looking into the figure's dark eyes.

The figure snorted, obviously displeased. "Haruno, you should know better than to doubt my abilities."

Shiro chuckled at the threat behind those words. He knew better than to doubt his source. "I know, but you know that if I ever told anyone where I get my sources from they'd throw me in a mental institution?"

The man beside him snorted again, clearly finding that thought amusing. "I would find that highly impossible, considering you should already be in one."

"Haha, very funny." Shiro glared, tucking a few papers into his pack. "You have enough holy water right?"

The man raised an eyebrow, clearly saying 'what the hell for?'. Shiro coughed, scratching the back of his head. "Right. Wrong question."

"I should be going now." The man said, turning to walk away.

Shiro sighed, throwing an apple towards the figure, who caught it without turning. "Remember not to even touch her!" Shiro threatened half heartedly, and a wave of a hand was the answer he got.

"Honestly, sources these days…" Shiro grumbled, hefting his pack. The apple he threw came sailing back, hitting him square on the head.

"Hey!" he yelled, glaring at the empty space where the figure once was. "When I get my hands on him…" he grumbled, walking away.

* * *

She swallowed nervously after Sasuke explained the whole situation to her together with the others, who apologized for keeping the secret about the fact that Sasuke was an Uchiha. Sasuke merely grunted, turning away from her after he was done.

"That's why it's a bad idea to travel with us, Sakura-chan." Naruto said sadly, eyes cast downwards. "You could get seriously injured if you keep following us."

"I suggest you head back to Sand, considering it's the nearest. Waterfall is of course, out of the question." Neji said, turning his gaze towards the younger Uchiha, who said nothing.

"But-"

"It's your choice though, we won't force you to do anything, but it really is dangerous." Shisui hastily cut in, seeing her about to protest.

"It's better if she headed back." Sasuke said, his eyes narrowing, as if daring her to counter his words.

"I want to continue my journey." Sakura said firmly, matching the fire in his eyes. She was just as stubborn as he was. "Even if I might die, I need to continue. I won't give up halfway."

Sasuke's glare hardened, but Naruto whistled in awed. "Nicely said Sakura-chan!" he cheered, grinning brightly.

"I won't be responsible for your death." Sasuke said, his frown giving way to a smirk.

"I don't expect you to." Sakura retorted, sticking out her tongue at him.

"Well if we've settled this issue…" Shisui announce, grabbing their attention. "Let's get on with our main mission."

"Right you are." Naruto agreed, still grinning.

"Infiltration of Waterfall village, begin at daybreak!"

* * *

**dark:** I'mma done with one more...((dies))

**Sakura:** Hey hey! You can't die yet dark-chan! ((shakes)) What's gonna happen next!

**dark:** I'm here I'm here...

**Sasuke:** Hn. You're lazy to write?

**dark: **Not my fault...I can't seem to put my finger on the plot completely now...

**Sakura:** You better...the readers have waited long for this update!

**Naruto: **Who's the dude talking to Shiro?

**dark:** That...is a secret. ;)

**Naruto:** ...Review please! We'll make sure she writes the next one soon.

**dark: **Nooooooooo! ((runz away))

**Sakura: **Get back here!


	8. Chapter 8

**Thank you for all those wonderful reviews and I'm so sorry for not replying all!! I know it's been months since I've updated, and I considered putting this on hiatus, which already was like anyway...ahahaha... **

**I'll try to update more though? XDDD Please enjoy!!**

* * *

**Chapter 8: Waterfall Border  
**

"Even though we said infiltration at daybreak…" Sakura muttered as she eyed the four sleeping figures. "Why the hell are they still sleeping?"

Kyuubi cracked open one eye lazily and yawned, barring his sharp white teeth. "Give them a break, they aren't super human, what with all the energy they used yesterday."

Sakura sighed, but she knew Kyuubi was right. Mages were still mages, and they had limited energy to use either way, she didn't know about Necromancers though. Sitting down quietly, she glanced around the cave which they had taken shelter in. It wasn't really big, but it accommodated them all, so it was acceptable. There was a river nearby, so they didn't have to worry so much about the Dead, and Shisui had placed a barrier Charter spell before turning in. Kyuubi had kept watch most of the night, as he could sleep later.

"Well, it isn't so bad, I guess." Sakura said, smiling slightly. It gave her time to think about the recent events that happened in her life. From leaving Konoha to meeting Sasuke, Neji, Naruto, Shisui and Kyuubi, chasing her brother, meeting Itachi, battling the Dead outside training, and finally, the infiltration today. Her gaze unconsciously drifted to the sleeping boy she met first out of the whole group, and Kyuubi chuckled softly at the gentle look in her eyes. Girls sure fall fast for the Uchiha clan.

"Is it past noon?"

Sakura jumped at the voice, turning to see Neji getting up from his place. He blinked a few times before stretching his limbs, turning to Sakura when he was done. "Is it?"

"No. It's…a little past dawn, I guess." Sakura answered, looking out towards the sky. How did Neji get his time mixed up so bad? It wasn't even close to noon!

"Hn." Neji grunted, kicking Naruto, who slept like a log beside him. "Get up."

Naruto rolled over, grabbing Neji's leg. "Mm…five more minutes…"

Sakura giggled, and Neji gave Naruto another hard kick to the stomach, effectively shocking the blond teenager. His eyes snapped open as he yelped in pain, glaring up at the Byakugan user. "That fucking hurt, you ass!" Naruto cursed, which earned him a hit on the head from his best friend, who slept near him.

"Shut up…your voice is too loud." Sasuke grumbled, racking a hand through his hair, which now looked worse than chicken's nest. They all seemed not be morning people, Sakura mused, as she watched the three awakened ones go about their own activities, with Naruto and Neji heading out towards the river, and Sasuke shaking his relative.

"How long have you been awake?" Sasuke asked, after dragging and dumping Shisui outside in the river.

Sakura shrugged. "Not long, maybe a few hours?" she said, absent-mindedly patting Kyuubi.

"Hn. I take it you packed your stuff?"

"Done."

Sasuke nodded and walked out, leaving the pink haired girl in the cave with Kyuubi.

--

"What are _you_ doing here!" Karin hissed as she jumped from tree to tree, glaring at Suigetsu, who raised an eyebrow at her.

"Please…I'd rather kill myself than willingly come along." He muttered.

"Why don't you let me help you with that?" Karin snickered, drawing a Charter spell before throwing it in his direction, which he avoided easily.

"Focus, stupid." Suigetsu said, watching as she muttered angrily under her breath. "I'm just here for the girl."

"So he thinks I can't settle the job?" Karin huffed. "So much for trust."

Suigetsu grinned. "That's why I'm here!" he said, laughing.

--

"Two unknown people are approaching." Kyuubi said suddenly, looking towards the cave entrance. Sakura stood up, grabbing her pack.

Sasuke did the same, and he looked at the two. "Let's move. We'll be able to get a decent distance if we tried."

Neji and Shisui came back into the cave. "It's not far from here, we can slip into borders of Waterfall if we take the route behind this cave." Shisui said, taking his pack from Sasuke.

"The security is tight, but most of them are Dead or Unseen." Naruto added, appearing behind Neji. "I think it won't be much of a problem for Sasuke though."

Sasuke nodded, securing his pack on his back. He turned towards Sakura, who had Kyuubi on her shoulder. "We better move now, they're coming fast." Kyuubi growled. "And Sasuke, you wouldn't be please with meeting them, I assure you."

"It's them?" Sasuke asked, his expression surprised. He gritted his teeth, his expression seemingly more urgent than a second ago. "Let's move."

"I thought you said unknown people." Neji asked Kyuubi as they ran into the forest.

"That was before I picked up their disgusting scent." Kyuubi replied, wrinkling his nose. "Their Charter pattern has changed, which probably means they got stronger or whatever." Kyuubi huffed. "I don't think they're really a threat, but we're not supposed to be wasting time here after all."

Naruto chuckled as he ran. "They'll probably spend half the time bickering on who's gonna fight who." he grinned. "Worse than me, eh?"

Sakura was confused, listening to the exchanges as they ran through the green trees, with Sasuke in front, ignoring all of it. He seemed more focus on gaining speed and the decent distant he wanted.

"They used to travel together." Shisui explained, coming to run beside her. She looked a bit shocked at his sudden appearance, but nodded.

"And?"

"They joined forces with someone named Orochimaru, and I guess Konoha history pretty much covered that part."

"Orochimaru? The black mage who conducted forbidden rituals and went against the Charter?" Sakura gasped, and Shisui shrugged.

"That's what the book says, isn't it?" he sighed. "But it's true. Sasuke was young that time, and all he though about was power for revenge, revenge on his brother for destroying our clan." Shisui elaborated.

"Uchiha Itachi…" Sakura whispered.

"Well, Sasuke got more than he bargained for." Shisui said softly, his eyes glancing at the younger Uchiha. "And eventually, he came back, not to Konoha, but to Sand, where I was at."

"He was supposed to be the only survivor." Sakura stated. "So how…did you survive?"

Shisui grinned. "Luck, I guess. But that's for another time, when he came to Sand, he met up with Naruto and Neji, two white mages, fresh out of the academy. From Konoha, no less." he smiled. "Naruto was familiar with Sasuke, because they were both under Kakashi for a while, so apparently they started traveling together, investigating weird events for Gaara, the Kazekage."

"And how did you two meet up?"

"Purely coincidence, or fate, whichever you prefer." Shisui replied, pausing to look at Sasuke. "I was running an errand for Gaara, and we happened to be in the same office. It was great, seeing him after so long." Shisui finished, smiling fondly at the memory.

Sakura opened her mouth to say something, but Sasuke appeared beside her, startling Shisui and herself. Sasuke grabbed Sakura around the waist and lifted his leg to kick Shisui away, which he was ready for. As soon as he did, a bright thin line shot through the air, right where Sakura was at just second ago.

"I missed!" a disappointed voice rang out.

"What the-" Naruto whipped his head behind immediately, shocked. "How could they catch up so fast?!"

"Charter spells." Neji said, activating his Byakugan. "And Chakra, combination. Why didn't we think of that?" He muttered the last line to himself, shaking his head.

"Keep going." Sasuke ordered, not letting go of Sakura. "Pick up speed, I'll carry Sakura."

The other three nodded, running faster. Sasuke seemed to have no problem with the extra weight, Sakura noted. Although embarrassed, she did noticed they were going faster. So they had been holding back for her. She felt like a burden for them.

"Don't fret over it." Sasuke said, noticing her worries. "We were trained differently from you, so our stamina and powers are also different."

Sakura stayed quiet and nodded after that, knowing it was true, but that doesn't mean she was going to stay weak, just for now.

--

"They're getting further!" Karin said, stopping at a tree. Suigetsu stopped above her, sighing.

"They weren't using Charter spells and Chakra like us just now, it's amusing how that kid grows."

Karin giggled. "I can't wait to meet Sasuke-kun again!" she said, blushing. "It's been so long."

Suigetsu rolled his eyes, stupid girl and her stupid fan girl mode. Looking into the direction they were going, he realized they were not going to be able to catch up with Sasuke at this rate.

"Forget it, let's head back." Suigetsu said. "We'll reach faster, since they're going to Waterfall anyway."

"Orochimaru wouldn't be happy though, since they got into the border." Karin pointed out.

"Who cares? They're gonna get it either way." Suigetsu snapped, jumping down to the ground. "We know the passages which are the shortest to get in anyway, we have more advantage."

Karin shrugged, but followed her partner as he opened a door on the ground, jumping in after him.

--

"They've gone." Kyuubi said suddenly, sniffing the air. "Their scent disappeared."

Sasuke didn't slow down, but nodded his head. "Must be a secret passage. Orochimaru wouldn't have any less."

"Man, it's gonna be hard then, isn't it?" Naruto said, coming beside Sasuke. "We never know who's gonna pop up from where!"

"I have to agree." Neji said from below. "We're at enemy territory, isn't it dangerous to just waltz in without knowing what to expect?"

"Your Byakugan and my Sharingan should be sufficient to avoid any ambushes, but we'll have to find our way around inside." Sasuke said, slowing down finally. The other's followed suit, and the young Uchiha set Sakura down on the ground.

"We'll most probably need to split up here." Sasuke explained. "They'll be expecting us soon, since that two went back already." He sighed, racking a hand through his spikes. "We'll meet once we're inside, if everything works out smoothly."

"I'll go with Naruto." Shisui said. "Neji can pair with Kyuubi, because who knows what Neji would do to Naruto when his patience runs out." he added, smirking. Naruto frowned, but said nothing.

Sasuke nodded, and looked to Neji, who shrugged. He didn't really care, but being with Kyuubi was a hundred times better than listening to Naruto talk about ramen flavors.

"Hn. I'll be with Sakura then." He said. Sakura nodded, smiling slightly. "The sun is setting soon, try to get rid of as many Dead as you can, but move fast so you aren't spotted."

"We'll be fine, teme." Naruto grinned. "We've been through this kind of mission a hundred times!"

"Orochimaru is different, dobe." His best friend retorted. "He's something we haven't been up against for a long time."

"It's better to be safe than sorry." Shisui agreed, slapping Naruto on the back. "Let's go then, dobe."

"Hey!" Naruto protested.

Sakura watched as the others departed, worrying for their safety. But Naruto did mention that they did this kind of mission all the time, so she sighed softly, praying that everything would be fine and they'd meet up soon.

"Come on." Sasuke said after a while, grabbing her upper arm. "The sun is setting."

"The Dead will be more active, won't they?" Sakura asked, gripping the flutes that hung around her waist.

Sasuke said nothing, but nodded in confirmation. The seven bells were secured across his chest like usual, and Chidori hung at his hip. He dropped her hand after a few minutes of walking, and he smirked. Sakura looked up and sighed, pulling out Ranna, the smallest flute.

"Looks like it's gonna be a long night." She muttered, as the shadows grew bigger and closer.

The Dead had smelled their arrival.

* * *

**dark:** Yeaaaahh...more boring stuff eh? ROFL.

**Sasuke:** It wouldn't be boring if you kept updating.

**dark: **((glare)) I know. Shut up.

**Sasuke:** Hn.

**dark:** Fine...I'll try to update more frequently. D:

**Sasuke: **((smirk)) Please review then.


	9. Chapter 9

**Thank you for the reviews! Sorry for not replying (T.T) and late updates again, really, I've recently found another inspiration to continue this story, and I'm glad it didn't take another half year to complete this chapter. **

**Well, there's about…maybe two or three chapters for the story to end? I'm not really sure, but it's around there. Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter 9: Reinforcements**

Shiro cursed under his breath as he jumped from tree to tree, pumping more chakra into his legs for speed. He had made a mistake, a huge one. He regretted sending Sakura out now and he hated himself for listening to the damned prophecy. Glancing when he saw the sun was setting, he prayed that Sakura wouldn't have reached the Waterfall border yet.

"Shiro."

The familiar deep voice calmed him a little, but the adrenaline in his blood made him move faster, but he answered the voice.

"Yeah. I'm heading there, have they reached?"

A dark figure appear beside him, following his pace from tree to tree as he nodded. "Two of Orochimaru's underlings have baited them earlier than we expected." The hood concealing the figure dropped back a little from the wind that whipped at them. "Have you decoded the script?"

"Yes damnit!" Shiro growled. "It was a mistake! We weren't supposed to send her out!" The maroon haired teen exclaimed. "Someone tampered with my memory, but they couldn't do anything with the script."

"Hn. I thought so." Itachi said, as his hood flew back completely, revealing his pale face and red sharingan eyes. His frown deepened. "When I gave you that script, something was off about the prophecy you told me."

"Damnit, and you never said anything?" Shiro said, narrowly avoiding hitting a stray branch. "We could have done something before I stupidly sent my sister out there!"

Itachi gave a long sigh. "I wasn't sure, and I don't make assumptions." He paused before continuing. "Besides, my brother was with her, I didn't think it would be that bad."

"Pfft." Shiro retorted. "If you weren't Itachi, I'd call you a brother complex."

Itachi glared at the younger teen. "Shut up, sis con."

"My sister is ten times cuter than Sasuke!" Shiro exclaimed, defending himself. "Plus, I'm less worried, I saw Shisui together with them too." He glanced at Itachi, seeing how he would respond to his best friend's name. "And…he seems well."

The older Uchiha stayed silent, his eyes looking into the distant. "Is that so." He replied after a few moments of silence. "I'm glad."

"You…" Shiro hesitated. "Aren't going to explain it to them?" He said quietly, staring straight ahead.

Itachi said nothing as he continued jumping, but his eyes said otherwise. Shiro waited patiently like he always did when dealing with the Uchiha, and he knew Itachi would talk to him when he felt like it. It was what friends were for after all, in their line of work.

"…Maybe." Was the quiet response he got after a while. "Just maybe…if they're willing to listen."

Shiro smiled.

--

Drawing Charter spells as quick as he could, Shisui threw a few more powerful ones at the nearer Deads that were closing in on them. Naruto cursed louded as he swung his two massive kunai, careful to not hit Shisui, who ran near him. Looking at the rotting, disgusting flesh that were peeling off them, Naruto felt sick to his stomach, something he normally wasn't bothered by. Shisui noticed his discomfort, and spoke.

"Don't worry." The older teen assured. "It's the smell that's become more obvious since we stepped into their boundary."

"This didn't used to be a problem." Naruto complained, throwing a spell.

"Well, you used to have Kyuubi in you." Shisui explained. "Maybe some of his stronger sense stayed with you."

"Yeah, like…sense of smell. Disgusting." The cheeky teen retorted, muttering curses. "How can Kyuubi stand this!?"

Shisui chuckled. "He doesn't have much of a choice now does he?"

Grinning from ear to ear, Naruto laughed out loud as he unleashed a stronger Charter spell which burned the Dead to ashes around them. Shisui whistled as the rotting bodies gave way to ashes and were carried away by the wind. Naruto had improved again, since he rarely used spells.

"We better pick it up." Naruto said seriously, glancing towards his companion. "The bastard might already be there!" He shouted with blazing eyes, making Shisui wonder if Naruto ever got the meaning of cooperating instead of competing.

Deciding that for now it didn't really matter, Shisui agreed with the blonde, pumping chakra into his legs to move faster like they always did when they had an emergency, they pushed forward, leaving the Dead to slowly chase their trail.

"Wonder if Sakura's doing alright?" Naruto said after a while, grabbing a branch and swinging himself to another tree as Shisui shrugged.

"Sasuke's with her, so she shouldn't be-"

"Hah!" Naruto exclaimed. "I'm worrying that the bastard will do _something_ to her!" The blonde laughed, knowing he was worrying for nothing.

Sasuke was an ice cube, and he had _never_ shown interest in girls.

Never.

"Maybe he's gay?" Naruto suggested suddenly, and Shisui almost missed a branch to step on.

"Hey, that would make Neji gay too!" The blonde teen exclaimed, and Shisui really did miss a step, his hand shooting out just in time to save himself from falling into the darkness below them.

"Why the _hell_ would that make both of them gay!?" Shisui exclaimed, flustered by Naruto's logic. "That doesn't make sense _at all_!"

Naruto grinned, as if it was so obvious. "Cause Sasuke never expressed interest in girls right? Neji is exactly the same, so maybe they're together or something?"

Shisui nearly rammed into the next tree, whether from amusement or embarrassment, he really didn't know. All he knew was that he was laughing his lungs out the next second after Naruto explained his logic, and he couldn't stop the deep sound emitting from the back of his throat.

"That's bullshit, Naruto!" Shisui continued laughing while trying to concentrate on his path. "Now I _know_ why Sasuke calls you a dobe!"

"What!?" Naruto protested. "Come on, it _does_ make sense!"

"Naruto, you are hopeless."

"Shut up!"

Somewhere on the other side of the border, Sasuke sneezed.

--

Neji sighed as he swung his staff to behead another Dead, wondering how many filthy hideous creatures there were in this not so vast forest. The only thing they encountered so far were Dead, and there were no Unseen or any other undead. Shadows were the worse things to encounter actually, but they had little encounter with them even during their journeys.

"We'll never reach anyway if this keeps up." Kyuubi growled as he tore through the rotting flesh. He spat out violently, trying to ignore the repulsive taste it left in his mouth. How he wished he was in a bigger form so that his claws were more of a use instead of his teeth.

"We're supposed to be moving fast." Neji said calmly, drawing a Charter mark as he spoke. "These are just nuisance."

"This is ridiculous!" Kyuubi growled louder. "Release the first level of the seal!" He turned towards Neji. "I've had enough of the disgusting taste in my mouth!"

Ripping through a few more rotting bodies, Neji smirked. "Fine. We'll get somewhere faster with you loose anyway." Ignoring the Dead that were closing on them, Neji reached out towards Kyuubi's collar, pressing a chakra filled hand on it and drawing the suitable Charter spell in his mind to partly release the binding spell on Kyuubi.

A loud, deafening roar rang out throughout the forest, alerting even Naruto and Shisui, Sasuke and Sakura, who were quite a distance from them. Even the compound they were heading towards to shook, and the occupants inside were alarmed. Neji winced at the sound, mainly because he stood at the closet distance to the creature. The Dead surrounding them moaned at the roar, and Kyuubi's red eyes glinted with malicious anger as he trampled them with his gigantic paws. Neji jumped onto Kyuubi's back to avoid it.

"Byakugan!" Neji activated his bloodline, scanning the forest with his eyes and ignoring the bumping of the movement when Kyuubi continued to act like a puppy as he trampled all over their enemies. No use trying to conceal their whereabouts when there were secret passages everywhere anyway.

They were doing this, with style.

--

"Hey!" Naruto exclaimed as he saw the gigantic red mass of fur in the distance. "Is that Kyuubi!?"

Shisui glanced at the direction, smirking. "Looks like Neji got the party going."

Naruto barked out a laugh, stopping in his tracks to watch as Kyuubi threw his head around, as if trying to see if he missed out any enemies. His tongue dangled from his mouth, and his mouth was pulled back in what looked like a grin, baring his sharp fangs. His eyes that was burning with anger had melted to plain enjoyment at being able to move freely and having a larger body.

A rustle of leaves behind them alerted the two, and they dropped to a defensive stance immediately, muscles tensed as they scanned their surrounding. They had been too careless, Shisui thought, as his eyes swept through the greens around them. Thinking that there were only Dead after them was a very big mistake. If mages could come after Orochimaru, then Orochimaru could certainly send out mages too.

"Relax."

The soft, feminine voice that he was accustomed to hearing made Naruto drop his guard, signaling for Shisui to do the same. The blonde haired teen grinned as another blond teen -female- emerged from the upper branch. She landed silently and gracefully on the lower branch, another figure behind her.

"Long time no see." The blonde female greeted, her blue eyes sparkling. She could have been mistaken for Naruto's twin, and Shisui was growing more confused by the minute.

"Who-?"

"Don't worry, they're friends." Naruto assured him. "From Konohagakure."

"Hello." The girl turned to Shisui. "Nice to make an acquaintance of an Uchiha. I'm Yamanaka Ino." Shisui could only nod in respond, still waiting for an explanation.

"Ino was in the same batch as me, a specially trained unit under ANBU in Konoha." Naruto explained. "Under a different teacher of course, so we're fairly familiar with each other." Ino smiled. "Her specialty is 'jumping'. Something like mind control and transfer."

"I don't normally use it though." Ino said. "Because Dead just don't need the use of this technique."

"And that is…" Shisui looked behind Ino. The girl behind Ino smiled shyly.

"I'm…Hyuuga Hinata." The girl said softly, bowing.

"I'm Shisui…Hyuuga?" Shisui asked, turning to Naruto, who grinned.

"I don't need to tell you what she excels in!" Naruto laughed. "But yeah, a Hyuuga. Hinata-chan is Neji's younger cousin, also under ANBU unit."

Waving the introductions aside, Naruto turned to Ino. "What are you girls doing here anyway?" He asked, completely serious, the mischievous glint all gone from his eyes.

"Kakashi-sensei sent us here." Ino explained. "We're looking for a girl with pink hair-"

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto interrupted.

Ino's eyes widened, but she nodded. "Yeah, Haruno Sakura. Do you know where she is?"

"She's together with Sasuke right now." Shisui said, turning their attention to him. "They should be on the other side of the forest right now."

"But why the borders of Waterfall?" Naruto asked.

"Gaara-sama said Sakura left in this direction, together with a group of people, I guess he meant you guys." Ino replied, frowning. "Kakashi-sensei told us to avoid entering Waterfall, but since this was the only place…"

"Kakashi-sensei should know that Waterfall is dangerous territory right now, and sending you here is-"

"We were also sent on a mission to investigate the happenings here." Hinata cut in. "Tsunade-sama said something about strange disappearances around here, and the prohibited entry into Waterfall is very suspicious."

"So other countries are noticing too?" Shisui muttered. "True, the increase in the disappearances is becoming a concern to other countries, even those which are not that close to this area."

"But Kakashi said to avoid entering, so why are you girls here?" Shisui asked, dismissing his previous words for now.

"Well, there was no resistance all the way to Waterfall, so we didn't notice when we stepped into the borders, until the Dead started attacking us." Ino shrugged, smiling.

"Ah." Naruto said in realization. When they eliminated the black mages…those were the only defense Waterfall had, it seems. "Well, we got rid of em…"

"Maybe it was better too." Shisui said, shrugging. "Anyway, we best get a move on…""Wait." Naruto said. "You two can't be the only ones on this mission, who else is in?"

Ino smirked, signaling she was hiding something. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

--

A new scent that reeked of white magic invaded his nose, and the only thing that had stopped him from bringing his paw down on the new person was the fact that Neji had inserted a mile shocking Charter spell into his collar to alert him, thus he stopped in his tracks, allowing the white mage to jump down from his back, going towards the new chakra pattern.

"Neji!"

A girl, no older than the Hyuuga prodigy stood behind a tree, her eyes scrutinizing the giant beast as Kyuubi sat down, uninterested in the exchange. Neji's face held disapproval as he walked towards the girl, and she merely smiled at him.

"What are you doing here?" The pearl eyed Hyuuga questioned as soon as he was in hearing distance. "It's dangerous."

"I laugh in the face of danger." The girl--Tenten--said jokingly, shaking her head when his frown deepened. "Just kidding." she said after her joke did not bring out a reaction in her--god forbid--stoic boyfriend.

"Honestly Neji, lighten up." Tenten said as she placed her hands on her hip. "I'm a very capable weapon master and a white mage under ANBU training."

Neji sighed, understanding his girlfriend well enough to know that if he kept this up, it was going to lead into another heated argument. He was just a year older than her, but he graduated from Konoha two years earlier, which made her a bit peeved, though it _really _wasn't his fault that he was a prodigy.

"Fine. But what are you doing here?"

Tenten shrugged. "We were sent here on a mission, Waterfall has been having suspicious activities lately, and Tsunade-sama is getting concern."

"Investigating?" Neji inquired, an eyebrow raised. "We?"

"Oh, I didn't come alone, of course." The browned haired girl replied. "It's, like you said, too dangerous."

"Hn."

"Real response, Neji." Tenten scoffed. "What are _you_ doing here?"

"Infiltrating."

Tenten raised an eyebrow. "O-kay. I thought infiltrating meant…" Eyeing the massive beast beside them, she turned her gaze back to Neji. "Being discreet."

"…"

"I'm not that huge." Kyuubi growled through his teeth. The vibration from his throat shook the ground a bit, and Tenten's eyebrow raised higher.

"It talked!" She exclaimed. "But…no, that doesn't matter now…I think."

"Kyuubi, I released two levels." Neji stated without turning to look at the fox.

"I know." Came the replied. "I know how big my body can go with each release, it _is_ my body after all."

Neji smirked, turning towards Kyuubi. "Let's go."

"The girl?" Kyuubi inquired, as Neji made to jump onto his back again.

"Coming with us."

Tenten blinked. "I am?"

Neji rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm, jumping onto the mass of red fur. "Investigating, infiltrating, we'll shoot two birds with one stone."

"There won't be much to report about investigating if we get this matter settled." Kyuubi said, grinning.

"True." Neji replied back, glancing at Tenten, who shrugged.

"Whatever gets the mission done."

--

Sasuke and Sakura were proceeding smoothly, after eliminating the massive numbers of Dead they encountered when the sun set. Sakura had made a good partner when she played her flute, letting Sasuke have free rein to draw Chidori instead of using the bells. She didn't have to draw her own blade, but after playing for a while she had gotten impatient even though Sasuke had been moving faster than her. As she played she drew Charter markings mentally, weaving the complicated patterns as she completed her spell.

Sasuke's blade had lit up, crackling with a surge of energy that resembled lighting. He had been quite alarmed when that happened, and he had glanced at the rosette hair mage, only to have her wink back as she continued her flute playing. He moved and cut faster after that, like a knife slicing through butter and he couldn't help but realized that her technique resembled his own, Chidori.

Glancing at her from the corner of his eyes, he actually wondered how far her ability was, because they hadn't really watched her fight before. They had handled most of the battles until now, and being partnered with her gave him an opportunity to assess her skills.

His sharingan caught a faint chakra signal as he slowed his pace, and Sakura did the same, her eyes questioning. Her green eyes seemed to have caught something too, and she tensed, ready for battle.

"Unseen?" She asked quietly, but Sasuke shook his head.

"Unseen don't have chakra patterns." He had wanted to say that she wouldn't be able to see them, but bit his tongue when he remembered she had the clairvoyance ability.

"It's been a while." A chuckle sounded from behind them, and the two teens whipped their heads to the back, Sasuke's hands were already on the hilt of his blade, while Sakura had her flute to her mouth. Their eyes widened when they saw who it was, his silver hair and lone eye painfully familiar.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

--

"They're coming here?" Orochimaru asked his two underlings, and Karin nodded.

"We managed to bait them here, as you asked, but we didn't manage to separate the pink haired one." Suigetsu reported, his expression bored.

"They are saving us the trouble." The snake-like man said, amusement clearly in his voice. "The girl is vital for the ritual." His lips pulled back into an eerie smirk, sending shivers down Karin's spine, while Suigetsu remained with his bored expression.

"The sacrifice for my ultimate forbidden ritual."

* * *

**dark: **Well, that's chapter nine!

**Sasuke: **About time.

**dark: **Hey! Gimme some credit Sasu-chan! I had exams!

**Sasuke: **Yet you update your other fic before this?

**dark: **…I hate you.

**Sasuke: **Hn. Whatever gets you writing.

**dark: **Fine. FINE. I will update more frequently…if I get inspiration.

**Sasuke: **Aa. Please review...and wtf!? GAY?

**dark:** ((whistles innocently))


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